Dreams of Rain
by Holy Spork
Summary: When Allyr returned home, she thought everything would return to normal. When she meets up with Kalas, she has to prepare for the coming storm. And find out why he's now a disembodied Spirit. [Daemon Trilogy: Part I]
1. Ripples In The Water

'Sup?

Hooray! This is the first fanfic that I've worked up the guts to post on the Internet! And for one of my favorite games of all time : ). So, first order of business:

Disclaimer: Holy Spork does not own Baten Kaitos or it's characters. Okay? None of it. Nope, doesn't belong to me.

Though I'm only going so say this next bit once: all of my original characters belong to _me._ And if I catch _anybody_ using them without my consent, I will _not_ be a happy Spork.

One last thing, WARNING: Spoilers may be hazardous to health. Proceed with caution.

Now on with the fanfic!

* * *

­_Dreams of Rain_

Prologue: Ripples In The Water

Sunlight filtered through the windows, falling lazily into the room like golden water. The room lack furniture, decorations on the walls or ceiling, or a rug on the floor. Lit candles were scattered about the floor, all of different heights, melting wax flowing to the floor like tiny boiling rivers. Inside of the tiny room were two figures, one of a man in his late thirties, black haired, pale-skinned, with a fair face. His shoulder-length hair fell loosely around him, like a veil made of a starless patch of night. His eyes were a dark blue, almost black, like water in the deepest pit in the ocean. Despite the heat of the warm summer day, he wore a cloak of black fur, concealing the rest of his body, and whatever sheathed weapons he hid under it. The second was of a girl, no older than six. Her hair was white as snow, surprising for her apparent age. It fell loose in the back. But two braids fell by her shoulders in the front, framing her face in white. If the man was pale, the girl was an albino, lacking all color in her skin, and warmth in her cheeks. Aside from some black beads in the two braids, she wore no accessories or jewelry. Only a simple white dress concealed the fragile body, with her bare feet poking out at the bottom. Her eyes were the only things that betrayed her human-like appearance. They were totally black, irises, whites and all. Just dark pits black as ink spilled on a canvas.

The man and the girl stood about two yards apart. The man looking down at the little girl, with a look that was equal parts revulsion, fear, and caution. Two yards is normally quite a distance for two people to converse, but a quick look to the floor explains the distance. Both stood within pentagrams drawn from some dark, unidentifiable substance. Both pentagrams had complex patterns of runes and symbols, though not identical sets in each pentagram. The man stood within the first pentagram, nearest the door leading out of the room. The girl stood in the pentagram directly opposite the man. The two stood in silence for a long time. Then the girl spoke with the voice of a child, but with an unnatural undercurrent that was something like wind blowing through trees, "Why have you summoned me here?" she asked. Even with the undercurrent, the voice seemed calm and somewhat flat. As if she did not really care what happened, or had the energy to care.

"I seek something which only you can give." Said the man. His voice, in contradiction to hers, was sharp and demanding.

The girl seemed to loose interest and looked down at the pentagram she stood in. "This is blood is it not?" asked the girl, with that same calm flatness. She could have been talking about a particularly boring weather pattern, "Human blood. And from the size and complexity of these marks, you must have sacrificed two to bring me here."

"I seek something which only you can give," repeated the man. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Just as any such summoning did.

After a silence, the girl looked up at him with black eyes, "Well?" she asked, "What is it that you seek from me?"

"A Guardian," he said simply, "No Spirit has answered my calls, and so I ask of you to bring me one. So I may bond with it and attain its power."

The girl stared at him calmly for a long time. The man, to his credit, did not waver. "No," she said, "I will not summon a Spirit." The man looked positively furious. Before he could ask the inevitable, 'Why not?' the little girl started to explain, "You have no understanding of the bond between a Spirit and a living human. When a human dies, or falls into a death-sleep, they may travel to another world. If they do, they may find a suitable bond-partner, and thus create the bond you seek. Though not every Spirit can travel worlds, nor all humans hear and bond with a Spirit. It cannot be just any Spirit with any human either. So rare are such Spirits and humans that I cannot even give you an estimate of how many out of all have this power. When they do bond, they create something sacred and powerful. Two souls, bound directly to each other. Fates, lives, and souls so fiercely entwined, the bond will not ever truly break, even after human and Spirit part ways. One will become a part of the other, leave an imprint on the other, and sometimes the distinction between the two can even blur. You are not one of the humans that can be bound to a Spirit. And so to force one to bond to you would be a terrible perversion of so sacred a bond. I will not summon a Spirit."

The man stared at the girl with such anger, that any normal child of that age would cringe in fear, "You are bound to _my_ will, by _my_ spell and sacrifices!" he shouted at her, "OBEY ME!"

The girl merely shook her head. "I will not summon a Spirit," Said the girl, "Is there anything else you seek from me?"

"I seek to know of my master's fate," said the man bluntly, "Has he truly died? I have heard only stories, and seek the truth."

"He has died," said the girl, "His hate had been calmed. His lust for vengeance has been soothed. His suffering ended. His killing stemmed. At last, he has walked beyond life, and has found peace after life's fevered torture."

The man looked stunned at the little girl. He looked up at the ceiling, eyes glazed. The little girl knew he was seeing more that just the mundane wooden planks. "But… how?" said the man to himself, "He… he was a god…"

"Only a god by human reckoning," Said the girl, "Long ago, humans found another sentient race. They admired their power, and how they never seemed to age, or how they never seemed to be hurt by sword or fire. The humans called the creatures gods in reverence. As a fly's lifespan is to a mighty redwood's, as were humans to gods. Though even the redwood tree is mortal, and will fall at death, though it will live longer than the fly. Gods too, are mortal, not immune to the passing time and death by the blade. No more than humans. Malpercio, and all his siblings, have found their peace. They have gone to death, just as all things mortal must one day walk beyond the stars."

"Spare me you're fortune cookie riddles!" Snapped the man.

"And what of your plans?" asked the girl. She looked up at him, and looked at him with eyes like starless night, "Do you not think them flawed?"

"I have not asked you for your opinion!" snapped the man.

"You may be able to bind me to your will through profane magics," said the girl, "But do not mistake me for an inferior, mortal."

"Silence!" snapped the man yet again, slowly becoming unnerved by the being he had summoned. He knew that when such being began to speak without invitation, was when they most often said things the summoner did not want to hear.

"And what will you do," started the girl, "If your victim cannot find the way?"

"SILENCE!" shouted the man. He shifted beneath the cloak, though it was nigh impossible to see what he had done. The girl could tell though, that he had reached for a sheathed sword under the cloak. How strange it was, that a human from this world wears his weapons sheathed as such, and not in a Magnus, as such things normally were. The girl stared at the man, but remained silent. She wondered if this man would be foolish enough to try to harm her with a mere sword. She smiled inwardly, not only would it not work on her, but he would have to leave his protective pentagram to strike her. Then he would be hers for the taking. After a minute of silence, the man released his sword hilt and quickly recited the banishing spell under his breath. The girl smiled, "I know what it is you seek from this venture," she said, knowing that he could hear her while he was banishing her, "And I promise, you will find it. You will find it, and much more besides. You will not fail."

The man thrust his hands out, fingers glowing completing the banishing. The little girl smiled at him, as she faded away, like a distant memory made solid, and was gone. The man stood looking where she had stood, smiling to himself. She had promised him victory. Even if he could not have a Guardian, that was all he needed. Immortals could not lie, and such a being had promised him the world.

The world, and much, much more.

* * *

Obscurity… fun… 

Where's this thing going to go now? Hehehe…

Anyway, please review! I will seriously take anything at this point. Good reviews, bad reviews, flames, it doesn't matter to me. Though I hope my stuff isn't flame worthy…


	2. Consider Me Gone

OMG! Reviews! I got reviews! And good ones too! HOORAY!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the prologue, you've all made my day.

Next up, Disclaimer: Holy Sprok still does not own Baten Kaitos, or anything related to it. Get it? Got it? Good.

So, on with the first 'real' chapter. Which I have gone and named after a song I like. XD

* * *

Chapter I: Consider Me Gone 

_He limped down the hallway faster than was comfortable or even safe. His breath came in ragged and shallow, coming out through his mouth as frozen white mist. Eventually he had to lean against the wall of the corridor to catch his breath, whatever that was worth. He looked back over his shoulder, heart thumping, but there was no one there. He shivered from more than cold, at anytime they could come around the corner and come tokill him. He did not know what they had done to the others, where they where, even if they were alive or not. He gritted his teeth against the sharp pain in his left leg. This was all _his_ fault. That _bastard _betrayed them all. What was worse, they all should have seen it coming. He slumped to the ground when neither his injured leg nor his other leg would support his weight. He crumpled in a miserable heap of pain and anger. He knew that he should have done something, _anything._ But what could he have done? He had been taken by surprise just like everyone else, and he had not been in the best of positions to help anyone else when they came. He still could not shake the feeling that he should have done something. He made a noise like a sob, knowing his weakness and his helplessness, and hated himself for it._

_He twisted around when he heard footsteps in the otherwise silent, and icy corridor. His heart beat against his chest in fear, like a living thing trying to break free from its prison of flesh. He knew that he was totally unarmed and injured. Not only that but exhausted as well. If he tried to run, either his limp or his fatigue would get him caught, then gods know what would happen to him next. He knew that he could do nothing for the others if he was caught… or killed. He scrambled to his feet, gritting his teeth against the pain in his leg. He did not know who was coming. It could be a guard, or someone who would otherwise be an ally, but he doubted that. So many potential allies had already been caught or killed. It could be one of_ them,_ which would guarantee a quick death._

_Or it could be _him.

_His blood practically boiled with hate at the thought of that man. He silently damned that man to the deepest circle of Hell. He started to try to run away from teh sound of the footsteps, but his injured left leg slowed him down significantly. He could feel the warm blood running down his leg from a long gash from just above his ankle, up his calf, to his knee, up to about midway up his thigh. He knew that he would not be able to stay conscious for very long if he did not stop the bleeding soon. He had already lost a lot of blood, and knew very well that if he kept pushing himself, he would pass out from blood loss. He heard the footsteps behind him speed up, a sharp rhythmic noise above his own out of beat step. He started running a little faster, totally disregarding the pain in his leg. He ran gasping for breath, and bit his lip against the pain, almost makingthat bleed too. He staggered on, even after the other footsteps long since receded. Eventually, he stopped when his injured leg gave way under him, and he fell into a crumpled heap on the floor of ice. He looked behind him over his shoulder, and saw no one, and nothing behind him._

_He sighed with relief, and let his head fall to the ground. He felt the weight of the past few hours sink in even deeper, and his losses stood out in grotesque detail, as did all of the things he felt that he should have done to stop it. At least, it felt like hours, but it could not have started more than twenty minutes ago. Everything was falling apart, and everything had been coming back together so well. The world was finally healing after so many hurts. It had only been about two months since the continents fell, but still it was progress. Then _this _had to happen, and shatter it all. He thought about the others, and the hardships they had shared. He should have done something, anything. Anything other than just leave them. But what could he have done? Tears began to well in his eyes, and despite himself, he started crying into the cold floor, hoping that maybe there was still some small chance that the others were fine, that they were still alive…_

"_How's it feel to be among the betrayed, Raven?" said a harsh, male voice behind him. It was cold as the ice and snow his land was famous for. There was a sharpness as well, as of think glass shattering. He knew that voice, and his pain and grief was insrantly replaced by a cold anger. He twisted around still on the floor and glared at the speaker with blue eyes that held nothing but hate for the man standing there._

"_YOU!" he shouted, voice holding the same hate as his eyes. The other man smiled. The injured one tried to get up, but before he was even off the floor he felt hands grip him and pick him up roughly as if he was nothing more than a rag doll. He struggled against the hold, but blood loss had drained him of his strength. He did not know who it was, or what it was, that was picking him up, for that other man was still standing in front of him, grinning wickedly…_

* * *

"…And now with the best fuel economy in its class!" went the alarm clock. The lump on the bed groaned in dismay at the sound. A hand poked out from under the sheets and started groping for the alarm clock. When the hand found the alarm clock, it whacked the little device hard until it stopped trying to sell the lump a car. When the alarm clock fell silent, the hand retreated back under the sheets. The lump lay like that for a minute, completely still as if dead, until it sat up. The sheets fell away revealing the lump to really be a girl in her late teens. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, trying to rid the sleep from her body. She swung her legs out of her bed and walked over to the window on the other side of the room. "Mornings suck," she muttered as she walked over. "Monday morning's suck even more," she muttered as she drew the curtains back. It was still dark out, so it was nigh impossible to see beyond the stunted dogwood outside her window. She looked back at her digital alarm clock. The harsh red lights proclaimed the time to be 6:02 AM. She looked back out the window, thinking how nice it would be to wake up when it did not look like the middle of the night. 

After staring out the window for a minute, she walked over to the closet to her right. After grabbing some clothes for the day, she walked out of her room, down the tiny hall, to a door that lead to the bathroom. The door was closed. She groaned. It was probably her brother doing whatever it was he did in there that would take up to fifteen minutes at a time. And indeed, five minutes later, a boy of about sixteen walked out of the bathroom with wet hair from the shower he had just taken. He was an impressive six foot two, with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. To his sister's everlasting annoyance, he was wearing a bright yellow shirt with bright blue jeans, a combination that gave her a headache whenever she looked at it. "Morning Allyr," he said, nodding to his sister. She made a sound like a grunt, and he, wisely, kept his distance. He knew Monday mornings were not the best of times for his sister. She walked into the bathroom, and closed the door quickly behind her. She made the change from pajamas to day clothes slowly, dreading the day to come. When she was done, she looked in the mirror, at the woman staring back at her.

She was eighteen, soon to turn nineteen. Her long dark brown hair hung loosely around her shoulders, reaching down almost to the small of her back. Her skin was pale, from all the time she spent indoors rather than outside. She was tall for a woman, coming to about level with many of the men in her life, including her peers. Her build was not exactly athletic, but wasn't overweight either, average really. She had her arms hanging loosely at her sides. Her shirt had red sleeves with a blue body, a pattern of gold overlapping squares on the blue part. She wore a long, and rather battle-worn pair of jeans. She wore no make-up, had no earrings. Apart from her height, she could easily vanish into a crowd, over looked by the masses. Her name was Allyr Mayers. She was nothing more, and nothing less.

Allyrwalked out of the bathroom, looking as tired as when she had gotten up. She walked into the room that served as both kitchen and dinning room. This was her mother's 'temple' where food of all kinds was prepared and consumed. She saw her brother viciously attacking a bowl of cereal at the table for four at the right hand side of the room. Deciding that cereal was a good idea, she helped herself to the box left at the table. After a very uneventful meal, she walked out of the house, grabbing the car keys on the couch before leaving the building. She turned around and looked at the little one-story shack that was her home fondly. Turning back to the green car in the driveway, she unlocked it, swung herself in, and prepared for anotherlong day at school. School was one of three things in this world that she hated above all others. (The other two items being homework and eggplants.) Though of course, she had to go unless she wanted to work in a factory for minimum wage for the rest of her life. As Allyr put her backpack on the passenger seat, she let her thoughts wander to when life seemed to be worth more.

Over two years ago, she had fallen into a coma at age sixteen when a drunk driver had struck her car during a celebratory drive with her father after she had gotten her driving permit. Though, the coma was probably the most exciting and eventful part of her life, for she had traveled to another world entirely. There, she had met a young man named Kalas, and she had ended up as his Guardian Spirit. They then went and well… saved the world. She had hated leaving, but then, she had never been fond of good byes in any way, shape or form. After that, she had returned to her own world, and a very uneventful life. _Life was worth more when I didn't have it._ She thought as she started up the engine. Sure, it had been fun. Though the implications were not the least bit fun. Because she had missed two years of school education, she had to start from where she left off, as a _sophomore_.

She groaned to herself at the thought of being the only eighteen year old in the sophomore class, before driving out of her driveway, and heading off to that terrible torture called the school system.

* * *

By three o'clock, Allyr figured that not only did Mondays suck above all other days of the week, but they were also unlucky. She was piled with more homework then bared thinking, scored low on her last, very important, biology test, and had an all around not that great a day. She was in fact, is so much of a huff, that she bypassed her car in the parking lot, and proceeded to walk home. It was only when she was halfway through a park in the middle of the city that she realized what she had done. She groaned to herself. Now she had to go all the way _back_ and recover the car. How the hell could she have had so bad a day that she even forgot to even _drive_ home? Inside the park were areas where the trees were so overgrown it looked more like a forest with an asphalt path down the middle. It was late fall, and many of the trees had shed their leaves like unwanted baggage. The bare branches were still reaching out as if in the act of grabbing the sun from the sky. Allyr had been standing in the middle of such a dense area when she realized her mistake. She turned on her heel on the path to go back, when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. 

She turned to look at what she had thought she had seen. There was nothing, save a particularly old and large oak tree. Allyr knew this tree well, because she had passed it so often. That, and someone had gone and carved _Jenny + Eric _on the trunk. She hoped that, whoever Jenny and Eric were, they were happy. Or at least not at each other's throats. She walked up this tree, keeping her eyes fixed on the bare branches, not taking her eyes off of them. Something moved up in the branches. Now Allyr was sure there _was_ something up there. It was too big to have been a squirrel or a bird. She kept staring, for about a minute. And was eventually rewarded when something seemed to sneak out from behind the trunk where it had been hiding, as if afraid or unsure of Allyr.

She stared blankly at the thing that had crept out from behind the tree trunk. Surely something like this could not exist in her world. Though after a minute of staring, she was sure, that, as it had not vanished, it was real, or she was hallucinating. It was a ring of little blue lights in the shape of feathers. Each light would fade into being as if it had always been there, then fade away as if it had never been. The thing was hard to make out, as the sun's light seemed to dim its own little lights. Allyr stared at this thing a little longer, before she remembered something. When she had been a spirit, (When she had been in the coma) when unbound, she had been in the shape of a ring of cherry blossoms, that would fade in and out just like the feather lights of this thing. This thing was the spirit of someone from another world, who had fallen into a coma.

Or someone who had died.

Allyr could have almost sworn the little spirit was staring down at her, thought it had no eyes or face. She almost jumped when she heard a voice in her head. The voice did not go through her ears and then to her brain as sound does, but seemed to come to her mind directly, _"Help me!"_ shouted the voice, sounding desperate and vaguely familiar to Allyr. The voice itself seemed to echo, though there was nothing for it to cause the echo. It sounded distant as well, as if the speaker were a mile away, _"Help me! Help me please!"_

She stared at this thing, trying to remember where she had heard the voice before. Why it was asking _her_ to help it? What did it expect her to do? It was a cloudy fall day, the kind with breezes that never seem to die down. One cloud passed in front of the sun, blown by a sudden breeze. For a little while, cloud shadow fell on Allyr, the tree and the spirit. To her surprise, when the shadow fell on the spirit, it seemed to assume a definite form. It had color, but it was also transparent, like colored glass. It was of a young man about her age, crouching on the branch. He had his left hand against the tree trunk for support, while his right hand gripped the branch he was on. His clothing was different from what was normally found in Allyr's world. A cuirass of dark leather protected his chest, along with mottled dark blue and red fabric at his forearms, and additional pieces of leather at his elbows and knees. He had fingerless gloves of the same striped green fabric of the shirtsleeves poking out from beneath the cuirass. His pants were made from some dark blue fur that reached down only to his knees, exposing his claves. He wore sandals of some blue fabric. He also had a tan cape on, the collar of which was high and hid most of his neck. He also wore a strap of the same dark leather as the cuirass across his chest, and a headband of thin rope in this hair. His hair was, to Allyr's surprise, blue. He was looking down at her, with bright blue eyes that were very familiar to her. To her surprise, he looked afraid, as if terrified at the thought of being left totally alone in a strange world who's name was even alien to him.

Allyr stared wide eyes at the young man in the tree, until the cloud passed the sun, and it's harsh yellow rays fell upon them again. With the rays, the image of the young man vanished, and was replaced by the ring of feathers that had been there before. Allyr could only stare at the ring. Surely this spirit could not be…

"Kalas?" she said, tentatively, "Is that you?"

"_Help me!"_ shouted the spirit again, voice still distant and echoing,_ "Please don't leave me alone!"_

"It's alright," said Allyr, walking right up to the tree and putting her hands on the strong trunk, "I'm not going anywhere." Allyr, almost as an instinct, reached her arms out towards the spirit. It seemed to waver for a minute, as if unsure about what to do. "Don't be afraid," Allyr said gently, as if talking to a panicky child who had just woken from a nightmare, "I'm not going anywhere." she repeated.

The spirit seemed to hesitate for a little longer, before floating down in a corkscrew to Allyr. As soon as it reached her, there was a sudden and blinding flash of light. She gasped in surprise at the sudden light and accompanying pain. She felt like a bolt of lighting was running up and down her spine, and through her veins. She keeled over onto the leaf-covered ground, and fell into darkness.

* * *

I'll give you all three guesses as to what just happened. ; ) 

Anyway, please review! Again, good, bad, criticism, flames, anything. 'Till next time then!


	3. Among The Living

Okay… chapter two…

First and most important: Holy Spork, still, does not own Baten Kaitos. So please don't sue me.

Second, I've fixed the thing blocking anonymous reviews. Hell, I didn't even know there _was_ a block for that. I'm sorry if anyone tried to review and didn't get through. That's been fixed so now please review if you would like! I'll still take absolutely anything.

Thirdly…

The story…

* * *

Chapter II: Among The Living 

_The man with the blue hair looked down at the person the guards had brought in. He was lying on one of the infirmary beds, out cold.The guards that brought him insaid that they had found this man buried in the snow, in the Ice Mountains, almost frozen to death. He was skinny, almost unnaturally so, even for a man who had been starved for days and days. His skin was pale, as if it had never seen the sun. His long black hair fell over the pillow his head rested on like black water over white rocks. His face was fair, elfin almost. The blue haired man looked down at him, trying to rationalize the suspicious feelings he had. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see his wife walking into the infirmary. Her blonde hair caught the light, making it seem lighter than it had before. As she walked up to him they embraced tightly, each reveling in the presence of the other. "Something bothering you?" asked the woman, "And don't lie, I know something's bothering you."_

_The blue haired man looked back at the man lying on the bed, thinking about how to word his thoughts. He knew that his feelings and fears were irrational, but he did not want his wife to think that. "I just…" he started, "I have a bad feeling."_

_His wife hugged him tightly, closing her eyes. "I love you," she said, "But you have a problem with trusting people." He gave her an indignant look. _

"_I just…" he said, groping around in his mind for the right words, "I just have this feeling that something isn't right." He said finally._

"_Don't worry so much." Said the woman, hugging him a little tighter. "There's nothing to worry about." They both turned around when they heard the man on the bed give a moan. He looked up at them his eyes glazed an unfocused._

"_Where am I?" he asked, looking around, trying to get a sense of his new surroundings._

"_In the palace in Wazn, at the capital," said the woman, She pointed to herself, "I'm Xelha," and indicating the blue haired man next to her with a hand said, "And this is Kalas." Then turning to the man on the bed, asked, " Who are you?"_

"_Morjidza." Said the man on the bed, eyes that were almost black still unfocused, "My name is Morjidza,"_

* * *

Allyr did not wake up right away, instead she lay on the ground, eyes closed in a half-sleep. She lay on the soft, leaf-covered ground for a long minute, trying to get her bearings. When she opened her eyes, she looked around, and realized that she was lying on the ground in the city park. What had happened just now? How did she end up on the ground, and in the park? When she remembered the spirit she had seen, she sat bolt upright, alert and looked around. The ring of feather lights could not be seen, anywhere around her. She lay back down on the ground with a heavy sigh of relief. It had not happened, it had all been some kind of bizarre waking dream. Then she felt something in the back of her mind, a presence, as if someone, or something, was beginning to stir from sleep. She sat up bolt upright again, trying to figure out what it was. She looked around her, in vain for there was clearly no one else there. She heard a voice mutter, _"Damn it…"_ in her mind. It was as if someone else was thinking in her head, rather than hearing the sound through her ears, and then reaching her brain. She recognized the voice, as the one of the spirit. Though the echo, and the distant sound were gone. The speaker could have been sitting right next to her for all its volume and clarity. Allyr recognized the voice itself, and it was like a hard slap to the face. 

"K…Kalas?" she said, not sure what to say, or where to say it to, "Is that you?"

"_Huh?"_ said the voice again. Allyr looked around for the source of the voice. But it seemed to be coming right into her head, bypassing her ears, which told her nothing about the location of the speaker. That, and she seemed to be completely alone in the park, which did nothing to lessen her confusion. _"How do you know my name?"_ inquired the voice.

"Um…" said Allyr, still very confused. She tried looking up at the tree where the spirit had been. Nothing was there. "I'm Allyr." She said, even sounding confused, "Remember me? Your old Guardian?"

"_Allyr!"_ said the voice, half surprise, half relief, _"Really? Thank the gods it's you!"_

"Wait a minute," she said, looking around, "Where are you? Why can't I see you? And why can I hear your voice in my head? Hell, why can I _feel_ you in my mind?"

There was silence. Allyr quickly thought of something. She closed her eyes, and tried to reach out with her mind. When she found Kalas, though some kind of mental link she gave a start. It was like the voice being in her mind, but this feeling was like another soul inside her, a warm light deep inside. It was also a presence, and a feeling, she recognized. She knew that feeling, for over two long years she had felt that, except, she had felt like she had been the one inside, as a part of someone else. She knew that presence, because she had felt it for the vast majority of those two years. Her theory was confirmed. "Did you do that on purpose?" she asked, eyes still closed.

"_Do what?"_ asked Kalas, confused.

"Um, did you mean to bond with me?" asked Allyr, starting to feel a little embarrassed. She reached out for him with her mind again, and this time, she knew exactly where he was. This only deepened her blush, as the possible complications came to her, "Like um… as a Guardian Spirit?"

Kalas was silent for almost a full minute, contemplating this, and feeling a little awkward himself. He had _not_ intended to bond with Allyr. It had just sort of… well… happened. _"Um… no,"_ he said, _"I didn't mean to."_

As this sank if for both of them, there followed an awkward, and rather pregnant silence.

"Wait a minute," said Allyr, realizing something that should have been terribly, blaringly, shockingly, horribly, blindingly, obvious, "Why are you like this?"

"_What do you mean?"_ asked Kalas, thinking he knew what was coming, and dreaded it.

"Why are you a spirit in the first place?" asked Ally, looking up to where Kalas was floating above her. He was a disembodied spirit now, and thus invisible to her. She only knew where he was in relation to her by feeling for him through their new bond. He was nineteen when she left his world, and because time flows the same between their two worlds, he could not be here for natural causes. Either Kalas was in a coma and had crossed over that way, or something, or someone, had killed him, "What happened to you?"

"_I don't want to talk about it,"_ Muttered Kalas, looking away from Allyr.

"I just want to help," said Allyr, looking concerned, "Sometimes just talking about something makes it less painful. Or maybe there's something I can do to help-"

"_I'm dead!"_ he suddenly snapped, _"What can you possibly do to help me!"_ After a pause, he swore to himself under his breath. (Or as close to 'under his breath' as he could get, while not actually having any breath.) Allyr _did_ just want to help, and he went and snapped at her. Gods, he was just going from one mistake to the next.

Allyr stared at Kalas blankly, "You're… dead?" she said, stunned.

"_Is it that much of a surprise?"_ he muttered.

"Um… yes." Said Allyr, "I mean, I hadn't died and I stillendedup in your world. I had just fallen into a coma. I was hoping that you hadn't…" she trailed off and fell into silence. She took a deep breath, and asked, "How did you die?"

"_I don't want to talk about it,"_ Muttered Kalas again. Though he did think about what Allyr had said. He thought she _had_ died, and had come to his world as a dead spirit. But then, he had never asked how she had ended up in his world. He had just assumed that maybe she just could not find her way to whatever afterlife there was, which was more or less what had happened to him. As to how exactly he had gotten to be this way, he really did not want to talk about it. Not even to Allyr. Not now. _That_ was filled with all the things he felt that he should have done, and things he felt that he should not have done. Allyr felt a strong feeling of guilt and regret from Kalas. It was like his emotions spilled over their bond, like water overflowing over the rim of a cup, and Allyr could feel it. The feeling was so strong that she herself started feeling a little depressed. Allyr knew Kalas well enough to know that he did not beat himself up about just anything. Whenever he did beat himself up about something, it was always something big, and he did not usually get over it fast because it was such a big deal. She did not know the cause of his guilt and regrets, but was still plenty worried about him. She wondered what could have happened to make him feel this way. Did something happen to Xelha or one of the others?

"Are you alright?" Allyr asked.

"_I'm fine,"_ said Kalas bluntly.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" asked Allyr, hoping that maybe needling Kalas would get her the answer.

"_I'm sure,"_ he said, with a finality that told Allyr that he would not talk about it anymore.

They were silent for a minute. Allyr sighed. Well, the reason Kalas was here could probably wait for a while anyway. Then Allyr started. She jumped up with a yelp, remembering something. How the hell could she have possibly forgotten that? _"What's wrong?"_ asked Kalas alarmed.

Allyr, her haste, had for a minute forgotten Kalas completely. This resulted in her jumping in surprise upon hearing his voice, and slipping on the decaying leaves on the ground. She landed heavily on the dirty ground, with a muttered curse and a loud "Ow!"

"_Are you alright?"_ asked Kalas alarmed, silently hoping she was not hurt. He did not like the thought of being with Allyr in a hospital for several days while she recovered from a broken leg or something.

Allyr jumped up again, this time careful not to trip or slip on anything, "I'm fine," she said quickly, brushing the leaves off of her shirt, "But I need to go _now_!"

"_Go where?"_ asked Kalas confused, _"Why?"_ He had been hoping for a clear, concise answer to his questions.

He did not get one, "Go now!" she shouted, "Talk later!" Allyr ran to the asphalt path and bolted down it towards end of the park. Kalas could do nothing more than float after her in a confused silence.

* * *

Allyr bolted out of the park, and started running as fast as she could in the direction of her school. When Kalas emerged out of the park, he got his first real glimpse of the city he was now in. Tall buildings made from glass and concrete were all over the place, many taller than anything he had seen before. Noises of distant machinery that Kalas did not recognize filled the air, sounds he had not heard or noticed before while he had been in what he had assumed to be a forest. He looked back at the clump of trees he and Allyr had come out of. Then he realized that it _had_ been a park he had been in. He looked back out at the buildings and the city. There were long streets of some black stone Kalas did not recognize between the buildings, with white and yellow markings he could not understand. Strange, wheeled machines of all shapes, sizes and colors sped past on the streets, their human passengers clearly intent on whatever their destinations were. There were loads of other things to take in, such as the strange signs, various objects, and people but Kalas became acutely aware that Allyr was already speeding off. He felt a tugging, like that of small child tugging at a sleeve to get attention, as she got further and further away. Eventually, the tugging became so strong he had to follow her, but still took every opportunity to snatch glances at his new surroundings. 

When Allyr arrived her school, she slowed down and panted for breath. It was a cold fall day and the freezing air dried out her lungs and made it hard and painful to breathe. She looked up at her school when she got most of her breath back. It was a rectangular building made of dark brown bricks. Over the front double doors there was a radial clock, telling Allyr that an hour had elapsed since she had left school. She sighed with relief. That was good. She thought she had been out longer. _"What's this place?"_ asked Kalas, trying to figure it out.

"School," panted Allyr, "Where they… work us… seven hours a day…"

Kalas stared up at the building, thinking. When Allyr could breathe normally again, she walked out into the parking lot, Kalas floating close behind. Allyr walked up to her mother's green car, which Allyr unlocked with her keys, and the car gave a beep. She was about to open the driver side door, when she noticed that Kalas had gotten no closer to the car. She looked back to where she knew he was floating, staring at the car. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"_Um… what is this thing?"_ he asked, _"I saw a bunch of them back in the city too."_

It suddenly occurred to Allyr just how ignorant Kalas was about the ways of her world. He had asked Allyr about her world when they were bound before, butshe had never gone into detail. She neither remembered exactly how much she had told him, nor knew how much he remembered. Clearly, cars were something new to him, "This," she said, patting the roof of the car, "Is a car. It's our method of transportation in the cities and over some distances."

"_Why don't you fly?"_ he asked bewildered, _"Or even walk in a city?"_

"Humans have never been able to fly here," said Allyr, choosing some basic facts to give to Kalas. It seemed like he would really need them, "And many of our cities are so big walking would take too long. And before you ask: The continents have never floated in the sky. We have several oceans that have always been there. And here, there are no such things as Magnus or magic." She paused for a minute, making sure that Kalas was taking this in.

"_You don't have Magnus here?"_ he asked after a pause, _"How the hell do you carry stuff around?"_

"We manage." Said Allyr shrugging, "Come on," she added, "I need to go home." And with that, she swung herself into her car. Kalas floated in quickly after her, examining the strange vehicle from the inside.

_How the hell do you work this thing?_ Thought Kalas and he watched Allyr turn the key and work some other things strange to Kalas. There were various buttons and gadges who's functions Kalas could not even begin to guess. When the engine revved, he gave a start, which was an interesting experience, as he no longer had a body to actually start.

"It's just the engine Kalas," said Allyr patiently.

"_Oh…"_ said Kalas feeling embarrassed at his panic. Allyr then pulled out of the parking space, and drove off in the direction of home.

* * *

Apparently, meeting up with an old friend (albeit a dead one) up in an oak tree did not constitute as a reasonable excuse for coming home late. Particularly as Allyr could neither actually say this, or blame her lateness on school or work. Allyr did not participate in that many extra-curricular activities that take place after school. And she had lost her job because she had been in a coma for over two years, and had not yet found a new, permanent one. Allyr had snuck into the mudroom at the front of the house, and deposited her backpack on the floor. Allyr had been hastily removing her right sneaker when her mother cornered her. 

Her mother was a short, overweight woman in her late forties. She was wearing a short sleeve red shirt and very new looking black pants. She had a round, red face that had those wrinkles around the eyes that come from smiling a lot. Thought right now, she was not smiling at all. In fact, she was giving Allyr a look that could probably wither plants.

"Young lady!" snapped Allyr's mother as she walked into the mudroom. Allyr had been leaning against the wall for support as she raised her right foot and attempt to remove the shoe. Her mother caught her by surprise, making Allyr jump and almost lost her balance. "Where have you been?" continued her mother loudly, "You're well over an hour late! Explain yourself! And why do you have dirt and dead leaves on your shirt?"

Allyr knew that if she did not come up with a reasonable excuse very, _very_ soon, her mother would jump to conclusions. She would think that Allyr had been a bad, baaaaaad girl, doing bad, baaaaaad things in the park. She groped around for an excuse. She would probably have to include the park, which would be the only way to explain all the leaves and the dirt. Though if she actually told her mother she had met up with a dead guy in the park, Allyr's mother would think her daughter nuts. She sent Kalas a feeling of needing help through their bond. They could not exchange thoughts comprised of words telepathically, but they could share emotions, feelings, and occasionally images that way. His response was the equivalent of the message given when one shrugs, without the shrug. Clearly he meant, _"I don't know!"_

"Um, I took a quick walk in the park," invented Allyr wildly, hoping her lie sounded convincing, "Just a quick one. But I tripped on a tree root and hit my head on a rock. I got knocked out and woke up much later-"

"Oh, honey!" interrupted her mother, sounding worried now, "Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah I'm fine," said Allyr, though she knew she said it a little too fast, "There's no blood or anything! When I came to I ran back to school, grabbed my car, and here I am!" Allyr smiled what she hoped was a convincing smile. This was a faulty half-truth to be sure, or maybe just a quarter truth. Thought Allyr hoped that half, or a quarter, would be enough to convince her mother.

It was. Thought Allyr's mother still went about being an irritating mother, "Alright," she said, "Do you want me to look at your head?"

"No!" said Allyr, again, knowing she had been too quick, "I'm fine. Really! No blood! No concussion! Nothing!"

Her mother gave Allyr a worried look. "Okay," she said, "Just give me a yell if you don't feel well. Alright?"

"Alright," said Allyr, hugging her short mother quickly to reassure her. Then after removing both of her shoes, she picked up her backpack and headed off to her sanctuary, her room. After closing the door behind her, she dumped her backpack by her bed, opened it, and proceeded to rifle through it. By the time she had wrestled out her biology textbook, (Which could probably double as a baseball bat it was so big) she finally noticed that Kalas was being uncharacteristically silent. Sure, he was not the most talkative person in the world, but neither was he the quietest. That, and he had been pretty talkative up until that point. He had asked Allyr to explain everything he had seen on the drive over, displaying a curiosity Allyr had not noticed previously. She had thought there was enough junk in her room, let a lone her house, which he should have been asking about. Now he was totally silent. "Kalas are you okay?" asked Allyr.

"_Huh?"_ said Kalas, who had not really been paying attention. He had been lost in his own thoughts, and had not really noticed anything since Allyr arrived home.

"You're being really quiet," said Allyr, "Something bothering you. And don't say it's nothing," she added quickly, "I know something's wrong. I can even feel it now."

Kalas was totally silent for a little while. _"I don't want to talk about it,"_ He said simply, looking at the ceiling.

Allyr nodded. "Alright," she said, deciding not to press the issue, "But if you ever do want to talk about it, just say and I'll be all ears." _Unless I'm driving in which case being all ears would get me killed._ She thought dully, but decided not to voice that thought.

There was a sudden knocking at the door, "Allyr?" said a muffled male voice from the other side of the door, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" said Allyr loudly in the direction of the door, "What makes you think something's up?"

"You're talking when there's no one else in your room," said the voice, "Are you hiding someone in there? Or are you on the phone or something?"

"YES!" said Allyr, louder than was really necessary, even when eight feet and a door separated her from whom she was talking to, "I'm on the phone! Who'd you _think_ I was talking to? Dead people or something?"

"All right all right!" said the voice, "I'll leave you alone Allyr."

There were footsteps as whoever Allyr had been talking to walked away. After a pause, Kalas said, _"That wasn't funny."_

"Of course it was!" said Allyr laughing, "If you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?"

"_Who was that anyway?"_ asked Kalas, wanting to change the subject.

"My brother," said Allyr, "His name's Takei."

"_Weird name."_ Said Kalas simply.

"You're one to talk," said Allyr smiling up at where Kalas was floating, "Who's named after a carrion-eating bird?"

They were silent for a long minute after. Allyr retuned to getting her junk out of her backpack, feeling embarrassed at her bad attempts to cheer Kalas up. Kalas suddenly said, _"Hey Allyr,"_

"What?" asked Allyr, trying to dislodge her world history textbook.

"_What's a 'phone'?"_

_

* * *

_

Okay, there's the end of the chapter. Again, please review! Yet again, I'll take anything, good reviews, bad, flames, anything. Just please, please review!

Though I'll go and hide in this bomb shelter while you review, 'cuz someone out there probably wants a piece of me for what I did to Kalas, particularly since now there's no doubt about his 'condition'. I promise, there **will **be a happy ending to this fic! I was going to have one anyway… so there will be one! Please don't kill me!

I'll be back with another chapter later. Until then… I'll hide in the bomb shelter...


	4. As Fire Burns

Okay… Now I have to stick my head out of the bomb shelter to deliever the next chapter.

Before that – Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Cool? Okay… onward…

* * *

Chapter III: As Fire Burns 

_The blue haired man was resting his arms on a windowsill.The window itself looked out at the city of ice. He was in the middle of one of the many corridors in the large palace. He was looking out at the city, but his eyes saw more that just the buildings beyond. He could not help feeling that something was not right with the man that was brought in. What was his name again? Morjidza or something like that. There was just something… not right about him. There was simply no other way to put it. He got up and stretched his arms over his head and yawned widely. What was it about Morjidza that bothered him so much? The man looked… unnatural. He looked and acted too perfectly to be merely human. That, and there just seemed to be some deep instinct that screamed at him to get away from Morjidza whenever they were in the same room. Something about that man seemed familiar as well. Though it was not a pleasant familiarity, like meeting up with an old childhood friend many years later. It was more like seeing someone breathing and walking, when the last time you saw them, they were apparently sleeping in a coffin of dark wood._

_He looked to his rightwhen he heard footsteps walking towards him. When he saw that it was Morjidza approaching, he turned back to the window, pretending he had not seen Morjidza. Morjidza however, walked right up to him and asked, "How are you, Raven?"_

_"Don't call me that." Muttered the blue haired man not looking up at Morjidza._

_"What's the matter?" said Morjidza tauntingly, "Why do you hate me so?" then bending close to the blue haired man's ear, whispered, "Are you jealous? Is it because your wife is friendly towards me?"_

_Something deep within the blue haired man snapped. He turned around and grabbed Morjidza by the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall, "You, shut up!" he snarled at Morjidza, "If I _ever _catch you doing _anything_ to Xelha-"_

_"What'll you do?" taunted Morjidza, "Kill me? My, oh my, aren't you overprotective. Maybe even a little possessive, perhaps?"_

_The blue haired man let Morjidza go, and gave him a look that could whither plants. He turned on his heel and stalked off in a fury, snapping at any unfortunate soul who tried to talk to him or calm him down. Morjidza just stood and looked off in the direction the blue haired man went. He smiled to himself, pleasedwith theeffect his taunts had…__

* * *

_

Allyr was woken the next morning by her alarm clock playing some obnoxious and bouncy eighty's song. The lump on the bed groaned in irritation. A hand extended from the lump and groped around for the alarm clock. The hand could not find it. _"A little to your left,"_ said a voice. The hand reached to its left and found the alarm clock, and a beating abruptly silenced the little device. It took Allyr a long while to remember why she was hearing Kalas's voice in her head. Then she groaned, today was going to be hell. _"What's wrong?"_ asked Kalas, looking down at the lump on the bed that was Allyr.

She made a noise that was partway between a grunt and a yawn. She sat up in bed, brown hair tangled and messy from a long hectic night. Well, hectic as her life went. Trying to explain _everything_ to Kalas, and trying to look as if she was not talking to thin air. On top of all that, she had tried to do her homework. Trying to explain stuff to a dead guy, taking biology notes, and trying to look sane all atthesame timewas harder than it sounded. She would not have been surprised if her mother or her brother thought that she was a little on the crazy side, considering how the last night went. She looked up at Kalas and said, "It's Tuesday morning, I've gotta go to school with a dead man in tow."

_"Will you lay off the 'dead guy' jokes already?"_ said Kalas irritated.

"If you tell me what happened," said Allyr, "Then I'll lay off the jokes." She tried to give him a puppy-eyed look, hoping it would get Kalas to tell her what happened. She could already tell it was not working, "Can you tell me, puh-leeeeeeeze?"

_"No,"_ said Kalas bluntly.

Allyr sighed. She probably should not press the issue anyway. She swung her legs out of bed and walked to her closet, where she grabbed some clothes for the day. She turned to Kalas, "Wait here for me," she said, and walked off in the direction of the bathroom. Luckily, her brother had not gotten to it yet. After shoving her clothes on (a black and red striped shirt and a pair of plain jeans) she walked out of the bathroom feeling even more tired then ever. Though she almost died from an early heart attack when she felt Kalas floating in the hall outside the door. True, even she could not see him, so her brother and mother were not the problem with this. She was concerned about what Kalas was seeing. "What's the big idea?" she hissed at him, hoping no one was nearby to hear her loosing her temper at thin air, "I said wait!"

_"I couldn't help it!"_ retorted Kalas, giving Allyr a message through their bond that was the equivalent of throwing one's arms up in the air, _"I just felt drawn after you!"_

"I'm sorry," muttered Allyr, "I forgot about that." And indeed, she had. When she had been his Guardian, she could not normally go to far from Kalas. Whenever she tried to go far, or when Kalas walked off, she felt a compulsion to follow that she could not resist. The one exception was when it was a real emergency like, say, if Kalas was lying in a ditch bleeding to death, then she could leave him long enough to get help. "That still doesn't mean that you get to stalk me." Added Allyr.

_"I'm not stalking you!"_ said Kalas really annoyed now, _"I'm bound to your soul!"_

"That's true," said Allyr with a nod.

"Who are you talking to?" asked a voice to Allyr's left. She turned to see the familiar face of her brother, Takei.

"I'm not talking to anyone," said Allyr calmly, "Other than you."

"No, I mean, just a minute ago," said Takei, "You were telling the air that it did not have the right to stalk you."

"Do you think I'm going nuts?" asked Allyr teasingly, "Maybe you're the one going nuts, imagining other people are going nuts."

"I'm just worried," said Takei, "How do you know that you aren't mad, imagining that other people are mad imagining that you're going mad?"

"This is just getting confusing," said Allyr, "I need to go soon anyway, later Takei."

And with that, she walked past her brother and into the kitchen. As she devoured her breakfast with a will, Kalas went poking around the room. Occasionally he asked questions about such strange devices as the 'microwave' and the 'blender'. About ten minutes later, Allyr had grabbed her mother's car keys and walked out, with her backpack, to her mother's green car. As she started up the engine, she wondered vaguely what school would be like with a dead guy in her head.

* * *

Kalas had thought that Allyr's world did not make sense before. If her world was confusing, her school was a tangled mess of things that Kalas had difficulty grasping at all. 

He _had_ been to school when he was younger, but he had never set foot in one for the purpose of learning since Georg and Fee had died. The most he could do now was follow Allyr, particularly as he had to do that whether he really wanted to or not. Most of the time though, he could not help but stop and stare. Then, Allyr would wander off in the direction of one of her classes and Kalas would have to follow. Even with this limitation, he still found more than plenty to spark his curiosity. Everything was unfamiliar to him. Even outside of the classes, the way the people acted and what they wore was strange. Kalas had tried to ask Allyr about this and several other things thought the day, but her default response always was, "I'm sorry but you can't talk to me right now! If people see me talking to thin air they'll think I'm nuts and lock me away. And that won't do either of us any good will it?" This meant that the vast majority of Kalas's questions were left unanswered. So Kalas had to be content with just looking and speculating.

Then there were the classes themselves.

Allyr's 'English' class covered literature, plays, stories and authors that Kalas had never heard of. That really did not surprise him much, as he figured that was one thing that their worlds probably would not share. Even so, it was very, very confusing. Currently, they were doing a play written by some guy named 'Shakespeare' hundreds of years ago. The story itself was beyond Kalas, and when a couple of students were sent in front of the classroom to act out a scene, he had trouble understanding anything they said. Though judging from the number of blank faces in the rest of the class, Kalas figured he was not the only one that did not get it. Next was the 'French' class. Kalas could only guess at what was going on. He figured that this was some kind of foreign language class. Mainly because the teacher and all of her students were talking in such a way that Kalas could not even _guess_ at what they were saying. This was one class he did not see the point of. Back in his world, language had long since been standardized. What was the point of learning a bunch of different languages, when everyone could just use the same language? Another class that gave Kalas some problems was Allyr's algebra class. In this class he knew some of the material. He had never really been that interesting in math though, and he had always been the kid that fell asleep in the back of the classroom. He _did_ know some of the stuff still. Kalas challenged himself to try to follow what the teacher was talking about, thought lost track of it about midway through the lesson. By that point, he figured that his math skills were either really rusty, or he was just plain _bad_ at it.

By the end of the day, Allyr looked as tried as when she had woken up. It looked to Kalas that all she wanted was to go back home and sleep for a full day. Kalas had hoped that she might answer some of his questions in the 'car' thing when they got there. Except it looked like she could not handle any questions at all. Allyr was walking over to her car, Kalas close behind, when she heard a voice behind her call her name. She turned around to see someone running towards her. The person was clearly female, with bright blonde hair reaching down to her shoulders, and bright brown eyes. She wore a pair of red shorts that Allyr thought inappropriate for a cold fall day. She did however wear a blue jacket over her bright yellow shirt. The newcomer ran to Allyr, panting rather hard. "Heya… Allyr…" panted the newcomer, "How's it… been…?"

"Um, Vivi," said Allyr, "Now's not the best of times."

"So you _have_… been avoiding… me!" panted the newcomer, Vivi.

_Vivi…? Weird name,_ Thought Kalas. _Why does everyone in this world have such weird names?_

"No, I haven't been avoiding you," said Allyr apologetically, "It's just… something's come up and-"

"Something's _always_ up!" whined Vivi. Then she brightened up, clapping her hands together, "Is there some way I can help you with it?"

"No, I'm sorry," said Allyr, and she sounded like she meant it, "I really can't accept your help with this thing. It's… um… kinda… complex!" she said suddenly, "That's it! It's um… kinda complex and it would take ages to explain-"

"You know I'm the patient type," interrupted Vivi, "You can explain everything to me and I'll wait for however long it takes!"

_"If she's the patient type I'm the queen of Anuenue."_ Muttered Kalas. Allyr quickly gave him a look that told him to shut his big mouth.

"What did you say?" demanded Vivi to Allyr.

Allyr gave Vivi a seriously surprised look, "I didn't say anything," she said.

"YES YOU DID!" shouted Vivi, now waving her arms in the air with more energy then Allyr thought she could ever muster at the end of a school day, "ARE YOU MAKING FUN OF ME?"

"Vivi, calm down" said Allyr, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders, "I didn't say anything. I'm sorry that you feel I did say something to offend you." Allyr had been hoping that this would diffuse her energetic friend, and it did.

"All right," said Vivi, calming down significantly. "Are you sure you don't need any help?" she added, looking up at Allyr.

"I'm sure," said Allyr, "And this is something I can guarantee that you don't want to get mixed up in."

"I was sure you had said something though…" said Viv, changing the subject, "It was like, 'if she's the patient type I'm the queen of… something'."

Allyr gave Kalas a look he could not read. _"Um, did you hear me?"_ said Kalas.

Vivi suddenly gave a yelp and clutched her head. "I'M HEARING VOICES!" she shouted. Everyone in the parking lot and others in the immediate vicinity looked over at Vivi, "I'M GOING MAD!"

"Come on," said Allyr quickly, grabbing Vivi by the elbow, "Come with me, there's something I've got to explain." Hoping that her friend would not lose her sanity, Allyr quickly led a very submissive Vivi to her car, and shoved her into the passenger seat. Ten minutes later, Allyr was driving down one of the many streets of the city, with a very scared looking Vivi in the passenger seat. She was gripping the leather seat as if she was on a roller coaster ride that did not have seatbelts.

"Um, Vivian," said Allyr, using her friend's full name for the first time, "This voice you heard, was it a guy's voice?"

"Y-yeah," said Vivian, stuttering a little, looking out the window of the car, "It was."

"You didn't see anybody who could have said it?" said Allyr, "You know, maybe they were walking behind you and-"

"I don't know where it came from," admitted Vivian, "I just sorta… heard it."

_"Did you hear me Vivian?"_ asked Kalas, hoping he would not set her off again.

Vivian gave a whimper but did not otherwise react. "There it is again," she muttered, her voice alittle bithigher than was normal.

Allyr sighed. "Just my luck," she muttered, "Vivian," she said in a normal tone, eyes still glued to the road, "I'm going to explain something to you. It's going to sound crazy, like I'm nuts, but trust me. This will explain everything." And thus she launched into a summary of what had happened when she had fallen into a coma, traveled to another world and so on. During her summary Kalas noted that she did not say anything about his fall. He did nothing to correct her. In fact, he was very grateful towards Allyr that she did not bring it up. Considering her current state, Vivian did not look like she could take something like that and trust Kalas if she heard about it. Then Allyr told Vivian how she had met up with Kalas's spirit in the park, and bonded with him. "Which brings us up to now," she said, "Now I'm just trying to balance my life out, and get Kalas adjusted."

Vivian was silent for a minute. "You're kidding me right?" she asked sounding skeptical, "I'm not schizophrenic, because you're bonded to some dead guy you met up with years ago?"

"Um… more or less," admitted Allyr, shrugging.

Vivian was silent for a minute. "How'd he die?" she asked quietly.

"It's sort of a sensitive topic," said Allyr quickly, "He doesn't like talking about it."

_"I can speak for myself thanks."_ Said Kalas, feeling a little irritated. He did not want _Vivian_ to interrogate him about his death, even less then Allyr.

"Awww… come on," said Vivian to Kalas, thought she did not have the faintest clue as to where exactly he was, "Why don't you tell us about it?"

Kalas's opinion of Vivian was taking a nosedive. _"I just don't want to talk about it,"_ he said, _"Lay it off already!"_

"I bet you started hanging around with the wrong people and one of them bumped you off," said Vivian confidently. "Or maybe he-"

"Kalas is a lot of things," interrupted Allyr, "But dumb as dirt isn't one of them. Can you just leave him alone? He really doesn't want to talk about it. Just because he's a dead disembodied spirit doesn't mean you can trample him."

_"Gee, thanks Allyr,"_ said Kalas sarcastically, his mood taking a swing in the direction of 'bad' as Vivian went on about the many possibly ways he could have died.

"Maybe he was murdered by a rival or something," speculated Vivian. Allyr vaguely wondered if Kalas even _had_ a rival at any point in space and time, "Or, or maybe," continued Vivian, oblivious to the look her friend occasionally gave her, "Maybe he got too close to the wrong woman. Or-"

_"Before you get too excited,"_ said Kalas, his voice clearly carrying his irritation, _"I was _not _murdered by anybody. I died from the plague all right? There was an outbreak and I caught it. I can tell you right now, it was a long and very painful death. Happy now?"_

"Oh…" said Vivian. Then she muttered something that could have been an apology. "I thought that maybe someone had killed you on purpose, and would come here to hurt Allyr because you hadn't _really _died." She muttered, "I mean, he's not like… gone."

"That's rather elaborate and spontaneous," Said Allyr turning a corner, "Life isn't a T.V. drama."

"I'm sorry for bringing it up," muttered Vivian. Allyr noted however, that Kalas had not commented. She shoved this in the back of her mind for later.

"Here we are," said Allyr, parking in front of a rather old looking, four-story apartment complex. It was made from dark red bricks, with mortar that looked very old and a little on the crumbly side. The walls were covered with long strings of ivy like a living carpet of leaves. They had been beaten away around the first and second story windows, though any attempt at removing them completely from the walls had clearly failed rather miserably. "Time to go home Vivian. And I will see you tomorrow." She added when she got a look from Vivian. Vivian gave Allyr one last look that could have been anything, before getting out of the car and heading towards the apartment building.

* * *

Allyr parked her mother's green car in the driveway fifteen minutes later. After getting herself, and her backpack out, she started walking in the direction of her house. She unlocked the door with her house key, walked in, and removed her shoes and so on. When she got into her room, she practically slammed the door behind her. She dropped her backpack on the floor and glowered up at Kalas floating about three feet above her. Kalas guessed from the accusing stare she was giving him that this would not end well. "Tell me the truth!" demanded Allyr, thought she kept her voice down, so someone would have to press their ear to the door to hear her, "Were you murdered?" 

_"What?"_ said Kalas, a little lost, though he had a vague idea of where this was going.

"You lied to Vivian about dying from the plague!" accused Allyr, "I could even _feel_ it. Was she right? Were you murdered by some loon who just _might_ come over here to take a shot at me so you'll _really_ die?"

_"Okay, I didn't die from a plague,"_ said Kalas, _"But no one's going to come here to hurt you. As far as I know, they do think I've gone on and all that. Besides, there's no way for them to get over here."_

"You're sure about that?"

_"Positive."_

"Absolutely sure? No doubt whatsoever?"

_"Nope. You're in no danger from them."_

Allyr let out a relieved sigh. "Wait a minute," said Allyr, realizing something, "Then you _were_ murdered!"

_"Why can't you just drop this?"_ snapped Kalas. _"For gods sake, what part of 'I don't want to talk about it' is hard to understand? I might be bound to you, but that doesn't mean I have to tell you everything!"_

"Kalas," she said, looking up right at him, "I understand how you feel. You've been thrust into a world totally alien to you. Everyone and everything you love isn't here, it's back there. You can't even touch or feel anything or anybody anymore. I understand how painful it is-"

_"NO YOU DON'T!"_ shouted Kalas suddenly. Allyr looked at him as if he had just slapped her across the face, _"My whole damn _world_ could be falling apart and I'd have no way of knowing! _Anything_ could have happened to Xelha and the others, and I don't have _any_ power to help them! I didn't even _want_ to come here in the first place! You don't have a _damn_ clue HOW IT FEELS!"_

Allyr just kept staring at Kalas as if he had struck her. "Kalas…" she said tentatively, as if afraid of angering him again.

_"Leave me alone!"_ he said, sharply. She felt him float away from her, up to the roof of the house, where their bond would not force him back. She hung her head, embarrassed that she had prodded him after he _had _asked her to lay off. Kalas looked around the neighborhood from his vantage point on the roof.Looking at the strange buildings and listening to the unidentifiable noises of people and machines in the distance. And like a pain that will not be diminished or ignored, they constantly reminded him just how far away from home he is.

* * *

Wow I'm really tired right now. That's what I get for staying up late for too long writing. 

So once again, please review. The more reviews I get the more motivated I feel to update. I'm going to sleep now. Oh, and please don't throttle me in my sleep. I can't update if I'm dead. Now for the good stuff... Zzzzzzzzzzz…


	5. Spirit's Magic

This is it. Here it comes. Now I'm going to sick my toes into the vast pool that are…

ACTION SCENES!

Albeit a small one. There isn't much real fighting going on. Well, there's fighting in the intro bit…

Anyway, Disclaimer: As my plans for world domination have not yet succeeded, I still do not own Baten Kaitos. Dang.

* * *

Chapter IV: Spirit's Magic 

_The blue haired man slashed at another one of the winged monsters with his curved knife. It screeched, a sound both grating and unnatural. He tackled it, landing on top of it as it fell. He jumped up and slashed at its throat swiftly and with deadly accuracy. It made a sickening gurgling sound before it laid still, blood dripping from the cut at its throat. The blue haired man looked around, many more of the monsters filled the large hall, and attacking anyone and everyone they came across. Far off he saw king Ladekahn fighting a pair of the bird monsters, long sword flashing as he struck at them. He even saw queen Corellia throwing spells at another pair even further off. _Where the hell did these things come from?_ He thought, _They look like the monsters from Cor Hydrae.

_Another one of the bird monsteres descended on him, its single eye glowing with malice. It swung its long handled axeat him, faster than he expected it to be. He ducked quickly, the axe blade barely missing the back of his head. _If only I had the foresight to bring my sword! Or just _any_ Magnus! _He thought angrily as he slashed at one of the clawed hands holding the axe. The bird-creature shrieked in pain and kicked viciously at him, sending him sprawling almost the length of the hall. He fell hard, completely winded. He felt like maybe a rib or two had been broken. Around him he heard the shouts of people as they fought, in turn, the monsters screeched their grating battle cries. _How the hell did these things get here?_ The blue haired man thought for the hundredth time as he picked himself up. They had just seemed to come out of nowhere and started attacking and doing as they pleased. And they did look so much like the bird monsters from Cor Hydrae…_

_His thoughts were interrupted as one of the bird monsters landed nearby, its gray wings beating hard. It swung down at him with its long handled axe, a blow that could easily cleave him in two. He jumped aside and the axe blade buried itself several inches into the ice that made up the floor. The blue haired man seized his opportunity as the monster tried to pry its weapon from the floor. He grabbed the back of its head in his right hand and slashed at its neck with the knife in his left. It fell over, twitched a bit, and then laid still. He heard a woman scream and he looked up, searching for the source of the noise. His heart jumped to his throat when he saw one of the bird monsters carrying a woman. She wore a bright pink jumpsuit that stood out starkly against the bird monster's gray feathers. Her blonde hair was messy from the fighting, and flew everywhere as she kicked and screamed at this thing, demanding that it put her down._

_"XELHA!" shouted the blue haired man. He tried to run over to her and her captor, blind to the fighting around him. Suddenly an axe head buried itself in front of him and he grinded to a halt. He looked up the length of the axe shaft and saw another one of the bird monsters blocking his way. Before he could react it kicked at him and he was thrown again several feet, landing hard on the side with the broken rib. He cried out in pain, curling up in instinct. He looked up and saw the bird monster drawing closer. It was then that he realized that he had dropped his knife, and he even saw it lying several feet away. As the bird creature raised its axe, the blue haired man was suddenly paralyzed with fear, expecting at any time to feel that great weapon bite into his flesh…

* * *

_

Allyr was worried about Kalas. It was the next morning and he still had not come down off the roof. She knew that he was just being stubborn about this, but something told her it was a little more than that. Something was really bothering him, and she did not know what. But even knowing that would not help her make up with Kalas. She knew that eventually she could probably force him to come down, but that would probably only make the situation worse. She wanted to say something, _anything,_ but what? An apology was first and foremost in her mind. Thought she had no idea how to word it, or when to say it. She figured that all she could do now was wait for Kalas to get close enough to actually talk to the guy. Allyr wondered exactly what had happened for the umpteenth time since last night. Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad to be affecting Kalas like this. Judging from his rant the pervious night, Allyr guessed that this was something **big**. Like, _his-world's-gonna-be-blown-to-dust_ kind of bad. How do you comfort a guy in that kind of scenario? And what had he meant when he said that he did not what to come here in the first place? Was he forced here? How the hell could a _spirit_ be forced to do anything, particularly if it did not want to do it?

As Allyr got dressed that morning, she tried to think of something to say. "I'm sorry about last night," is the classic. Then, "I shouldn't have pushed it," was good too. She had the feeling though, that as soon as she got the opportunity, she would have no idea what to say. The rest of the morning was pretty normal; Allyr went through her daily rituals just as she would any other day. Except she spent every waking minute thinking about what she would say to Kalas if and when she got the chance. Finally she was walking out to her car, with backpack and car key. She could feel Kalas following her, just a presence like the feeling of being watched, though not unpleasant. When she got into the car, she felt Kalas really close by her. As she started up the engine, she tried to think of one of the thousand things she wanted to say to him. And just as she had predicted, none of them came to her. The pair stayed silent for several long minutes, until Allyr got into some heavy traffic on the way to school.

_"I'm sorry about last night,"_ said Kalas suddenly, _"I shouldn't have shouted at you like that."_

"No, it's my fault," said Allyr feeling embarrassed, "I shouldn't have asked you. I knew it was a sensitive topic, and you kept asking me to knock it off and I didn't listen. I'm sorry."

They were silent for a long time. _"It's not your fault,"_ said Kalas quickly, _"That still doesn't give me the right to yell at you."_

"No, it is my fault," said Allyr, "I shouldn't have gone and prodded you." They were silent for a long while, "Does forgive and forget sound good to you?" said Allyr.

_"Fine with me,"_ said Kalas. They said nothing else to each other for the remainder of the trip.

* * *

School for Allyr was again a routine affair, and held infinite wonder for Kalas. They said nothing to each other the entire day. Kalas did not ask Allyr to explain anything, and instead contemplated it on his own. Allyr in turn, did not say anything to Kalas, keeping the silence. At the end of the school day, the pair had started heading off to Allyr's car. They had not said a word to each other since the drive over, and neither made any attempt to break it, or wished to break it. "ALLYR!" shouted a female voice behind Allyr. She turned to see Vivian running up to her, blonde hair all over the place, looking like she might not have slept at all the pervious night. "Hi Allyr," said Vivian, "How's life been?" 

"Um, Vivi," said Allyr, looking concerned, "Are you alright?"

"Fine!" said Vivian, "I'm better now. I'm not hearing voices now! I'm sorry about yesterday," she hung her head, "I've learned to never drink soda with caffeine in it ever again."

"Um… what does soda have to do with this?" asked Allyr, looking worried for her friend, "Are you…?"

"Fine!" said Vivian, her voice rising half an octave, "I'm perfectly alright!" she gave Allyr a smile that frightened her on many levels.

"Vivi," said Allyr, after giving Kalas a warning glance that clearly said, _Say anything and I'll give you hell,_ "Take a deep breath for me, please?" Vivian complied, "You can breath out damn it!" said Allyr alarmed when her friend started turning blue. "Calm now?" asked Allyr, knowing that her friend could never really be calm, but decided to ask all the same. Vivian nodded, "Okay," said Allyr, "Come with me, I'll take you home."

Five minutes later, Allyr was driving her mother's green car, down one of the city streets. (_I've gotta get my own car soon,_ thought Allyr.) A stressed looking Vivian sat in the passenger seat, and Kalas floated by Allyr's shoulder, wanting to look out the window at the city, and be as far away from Vivian as he could get without leaving the car. He looked out the window, at the buildings, people and carsas they rushed by in a blur of color.

Allyr was turning driving down a street with a group of nondescript stores when Kalas saw something odd, and it bothered him, though exactly why it did he was not sure. In a gap between a grocery store and a beat down little restaurant, stood a little girl. Her skin was unnaturally white, lacking all pigment entirely. She wore only a simply white dress, which left her bare feet exposed. Her hair was as white as the dress, falling loose in the back, with to braids, beaded with black beads, framing her face. Her eyes where what startled him the most, they were completely black, like pits that seemed to lead only to darkness. Though she had no clear irises or pupils, Kalas could have sworn that this girl was looking right _at_ him. Not through him to look at the driver and passenger of the car, but at _him._ People walked right past this girl, but took no notice, as if they could not see her. In the few seconds that Kalas could see her, she seemed to follow him with her dark gaze. Until Allyr went too far, and he could no longer see the little girl with the black eyes.

He kept looking back, feeling unnerved. She seemed familiar but he could not place it. Then recognition sank in like a heavy physical blow. This only confused him, how could she _exist_? Unless he was going mad. Or, he had not been hallucinating when he had seen her last. But he _must_ have been hallucinating before; there just was no other explanation. Except he had seen her just now, and he felt sane enough. There was no mistaking her though, not with those eyes that were like pits leading to oblivion. But how could she have been there before, and how could she have been there just now? If she was real, what did this mean? How could she have gotten _here_ anyway? Who or what exactly was she? Was she following him? Why would she want to do that?

Allyr felt Kalas's mix of discomfort, confusion, and something vaguely like fear. She glanced in his direction but said nothing. Allyr was worried about him again. Did he see something that bothered him? She could not think of anything that could really affect him this way. Not immediately anyway.

Allyr gave a groan when she saw the upcoming traffic jam. Vivian said nothing, and just sat in her seat completely silent. As Allyr pulled up behind the nearest car, she started hearing the screaming. "What the…?" said Vivian, sitting up straighter, trying to see past the humongous SUV ahead of them. Then people started running past the car, waving their arms in the air and screaming something that no one could make out. Allyr, with the curiosity of the cat that was killed, quickly got out of the car to look past he SUV and see what the hell was going on. When she saw what it was, she started yelling to.

"Oh my god!" she shouted, "This can't be happening!" Vivian got out and Kalas floated up to Allyr to see what was the matter. What met them scared Vivian and confused Kalas. Ahead of them by many cars was a Sabre Dragon, a creature native to Kalas's world. It was easily twenty feet high and as long as Allyr's whole house. Its skin was the color and texture of damp old moss. It walked on all fours, the back two feet taloned like bird claws, the front two feet had only one toe, elongated and curled. Growths shaped like mushrooms grew from the beast's back. Whenever it moved the growths would wiggle like jell-o, and thick clouds of green spores puffed out from the growths. Its triangular head was tall, beyond anything that could be considered aesthetically pleasing, with short curled horns and a nose that was also curled. Bulging yellow eyes looked about in search of prey. Burning saliva, like liquid fire dripped from between a gaping mouth filled with bronze colored teeth.

It roared, a sound like a cross between the angry cry of a bear and the great roar of a lion. Spittle flew from its mouth, leaving burning holes wherever it landedbe itflesh or metal. The curled toes on its front feet lashed out like whips, striking machine, building and people alike. Everyone was running away from the great beast, screaming, as none had seen anything like it before, or knew such a creature walked the earth. "W…what the hell is it?" asked Vivian looking like she wanted to run away with the panicked crowd.

"We should get out of here," said Allyr, turning to run with the mad group. Then the Sabre dragon turned its great head and looked at her. With a roar it bounded forward, people and cars being crushed and scattered in its wake like bowling pins. "We should get out of here, NOW!" shouted Allyr, before turning around and bolting. Allyr briefly had the image in her head of her runningheroically towards the dragon yelling a battle cry, preparing to fight it. But then, she was unarmed, it had whip-like toes and teeth. It also happened to be several times taller and heavier than she was. If it wanted to kill her, it could do so simply by stepping on her. Before Allyr ran twenty feet, the dragon bounded over her head, an impressive feat for a beast so big. It landed right in front of Allyr, cutting her off from her escape route. Allyr and Vivian, following close behind stopped in their tracks, as did several others who had been fleeing the giant monster. It roared again, the sound so loud that everyone had to cover their ears.

The beast was suddenly distracted by the sounds of sirens right behind it. It turned its head to see a group of black-and-white cars speeding up to it. It turned around and faced the oncoming vehicles, its eyes lighting up with the thought of more prey. The terrified police officers did one of three things: they turned around and drove off in the opposite direction, sat in the car paralyzed until it collided with a building, the dragon, or another car, or they got out and started firing on the dragon. It gave an angryroar as the bullets buried themselves into its flesh, the sounds of the handguns drowned out by its roar. "They got it!" shouted Vivian.

The dragon roared at the policemen, flaming froth forming at its mouth. It reared up onto its taloned hind legs, before crashing down, the ground shaking as if in the throws of an earthquake. The dragon spat out a great fireball, obliterating anything in its path, and burning anything, be it metal, asphalt or flesh, that was too close. There were screams of fear as the fireball made its blazing path, disturbed by nothing. The fireball left a burning trail of destruction, like the tail of a comet, the asphalt and metal still slightly boiling from the heat left over. The air was filled with the smell of hot asphalt, melting metal and burnt flesh. Bodies of the dead were either reduced to ash, or lay strewn with the injured near the burning trail. The dragon turned around and fixed its yellow gaze on Allyr. Without a word to each other, Vivian and Allyr, and several others bolted off, trying to get away from the monstrosity.

The whole time, Kalas was constantly in a state of panic. When they had been bound before, Allyr had often complained about not being able to actually do anything. Because she had been a spirit, she could neither fight nor offer support that was anything more than just words. Now he realized just how bad it felt to want to do something but not have the power to do anything to change it. He remembered the Spirit Spells he and Allyr could use before, but he was unsure about those. He did not want to take Allyr by surprise, and have the spell go off somewhere they did not want it to go. Casting the spells held risks in themselves. When they were bound before, to cast a Spirit Spell, Allyr would draw up her own power, and then place it in Kalas, and he would them cast the spell. Neither could determine which one of the six it would be, but Kalas could control where it was cast, and Allyr could determine how powerful the spell would be. But even that held possible complications. If Allyr did not give Kalas enough power, the spell would be too weak. If Allyr gave him too much, which had happened five times before, it hurt Kalas physically. His body could not endure the strain, and such a spell would leave him badly injured for days after. Kalas could block the spell before it was cast if he felt that it would endanger him, or did not trust Allyr's judgment, but he did not always guess right about the strength of the spell.

Now that Kalas was the Guardian, he did not want to trigger a spell incase it harmed Allyr, as he did not know exactly how much power to give her. Even if he tried, if Allyr did not trust him enough, the spell would fail before it even started. Even if it did work, there was no guarantee it would kill the dragon, either by missing the dragon, or being too weak a spell to kill it. Either way, if she cast it, chances were high that the strain would at least leave her fatigued for days after, simply because she had never cast one herself before. If the spell drained her, she could not run away and would be easy prey for the dragon. If Allyr died… he would never forgive himself.

As the beast gained ground between Allyr and itself, Kalas did not think he had much of a choice. If he did not do something, the Sabre Dragon would surely kill her. _"Allyr!"_ he shouted, hoping to get her attention. As he shouted, he prepared to cast the spell. Reaching inside himself, knowing how to do this with something as deep as instinct, grabbed at the power within. Like someone drawing water from a deep well, he drew the power up, from inside. Not knowing where it came from or cared, he reached out to Allyr with his mind, and gave her his power. Allyr felt it like a sudden injection of adrenaline, swift and exhilarating. The feeling was intoxicating and she welcomed it. Made confident with this new power, she turned to face the charging dragon.

"What are you doing?" shouted Vivian in alarm when she saw her friend change direction. Allyr felt almost invincible, the feeling of power was so intoxicating. For the first time, she really understood why Kalas would betray those who trusted him for this kind of feeling. Vivian stood and stared as her friend was surrounded by silver-white light, like starlight made visible. Her right hand glowed blue as the oncoming monster halted and stared at this strange, glowing human. Allyr, directed almost by instinct, raised her right hand above her head, "I am Water, dispeller of Fire!" she shouted.

"What are you doing?" repeated Vivian alarmed.

"SACRED SPRING!" shouted Allyr, ignoring her friend and thrusting her glowing right hand out in the direction of the Sabre Dragon. A pool of clear water burst from under the body of the dragon. Bright bubbles formed then popped, dowsing the creature in shinning water. The effect was immediate and violent. The dragon thrashed around, the water from the bubbles seeming to burn it. The great torrent beneath it shot up and made the dragon stagger and roar in pain. It fell onto its side, the water subsiding, and after a few shudders, laid still, yellow eyes glazing over.

Somewhere so far that it is impossible to measure, someone looked down at the battle with a frown on his face. Though this introduced an interesting complication; this girl was bound to a Guardian Spirit, and a fairly powerful one by the looks of it. He gazed down at the little black clay bowl filled with clear water that served as his Looking Glass. He brushed some of his long black hair out of his eyes as he bent over the water to get a better view. The dragon had been easy enough to summon and bind to a task, but much harder to send to another world. It was not like he was short on possible sacrifices if he had to summon another monster, but he had his limitations as to how many and how often he could summon. But he _had_ to have her killed. It was almost like an obsession, he had searched her for the first time only a day ago, and yet every time he closed his eyes he could see nothing other than her face. He looked down at the water and thought hard, why was he putting so much faith in a bad dream he had? _Maybe,_ he thought, _Because the damn things so often turn out to mean things._ He leaned back in the chair with a sigh. Now what? What should he send over to eliminate her? Clearly she had enough power to handle many of this world's lesser monsters. Or should he just try a little harder to just let the whole issue slide? He stood up and looked away from the water, _This will take some time,_ he thought, _I have enough problems as it is without pursuing some woman I saw in a dream._

Back in Allyr's world, Vivian was jumping up and down, waving her arms in the air chattering excitedly, "You… you did it!" shouted Vivian triumphantly, "You did it! I don't know how, but you killed it!" Silence greeted this outburst. "Allyr?" she added, when her friend did not respond. Vivian turned to Allyr. She was bent over, hair hiding her face. She had her arms crossed, gripping her shoulders with the opposite hand, and if she was in pain. "Allyr?" said Vivian.

_"NOOOO!"_ shouted Kalas despairingly, recognizing the signs immediately. Allyr keeled over and lay on the ground. Blood was dripping from the corner of her mouth, and from both nostrils, leaving shinning trails of crimson on her face. Kalas felt her lose consciousness, and felt his own horror and shame at what he had done. He had given Allyr too much of his own power.

"ALLYR!" shouted Vivian, kneeling by her friend, "What happened?" she looked up, oblivious to all the people now intent on the corpse of the Sabre Dragon, all too dim and stunned to notice that Allyr had killed it, and was now injured. Vivian looked around wildly, "Kalas," she said with a small voice, like she was afraid, "What's wrong with her?" Kalas did not answer. He could already feel his own consciousness slipping. He was bound to Allyr and her soul, if she fell unconscious, he would follow shortly after. It was like the way he imagined drowning would be. Everything at the edges went dark, the little bit of light shrinking like the surface of the water becoming distant to a dying swimmer. He heard Vivian call his name again, but could not seem to remember why she was calling him. Soon, he fell into darkness, and remembered no more.

* * *

- Gasp - Cliffhanger! 

Before anyone asks, no I did **NOT** kill Allyr! Jeeze, why would I kill her? If she died there would be no plot.

Anyway, once agian, please review. Soon. I will seriously take anything from anyone. Just please REVIEW!


	6. Dark As December

Dang, this chapter's a monster. This chapter is _nine whole pages _on Word. Next time I'm writing a chapter that's nice and short. Unless everyone likes it this length, in which case... nine pages it is then.

Anyway, Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. 'Kay? Good. Moving on…

* * *

Chapter V: Dark As December 

_"STOP!" shouted a sharp male voice, "He is mine!"_

_The bird creature stopped mid-blow and looked behind it in the direction of the speaker. The blue haired man, who had been expecting death, looked up as well. It was that man the guards brought in from the Ice Mountains, Morjidza. He was wearing a black-furred cloak, concealing everyone else he wore, hair left to hang loosely about his shoulders. His eyes were giving the bird creature a hard stare. The bird creature seemed to bow to Morjidza, before flying off to cause havoc somewhere else. The blue haired man could only lie on the ground, stunned. Morjidza walked overto the fallen dagger and picked it up, careful not to cut himself on its edge. He tossed it in the direction of the blue haired man. It slid across the icy floor, and stopped well within arms reach. "What…?" said the blue haired man, unsure of what to think about this, "What the hell is going on?"_

_"I would have let my servant kill you," said Morjidza, "But, I have some plans for you specifically. Get up!" he snapped these last two words. The blue haired man obeyed reluctantly, picking up the dagger by the handle, careful not to make his broken rib any worse by straining it._

_"These things are… your servants?" he said, straightening up, "But… how_... _why?"_

_"I summoned them here," said Morjidza, "They will do whatever I will them to."_

_"Then… you were planning this from the beginning!" accused the blue haired man, "You only faked injury so the guards would bring you here!"_

_"Possibly," said Morjidza, shrugging. "But that's not what I want from you. Prove to me that you were the one strong enough to kill my master!"_

_"Your master?" said the blue haired man, "Wha…" before he could even finish the first word Morjidza drew a sword from beneath the cloak and lunged at the blue haired man. He just barely managed to bring up his dagger to block before Morjidza was upon him. He could only parry the blows Morjidza rained down on him; the clatter of steel on steel filled the icy hall along with the other multitudes of sounds that accompanied fighting and death._

_Morjidza slashed at the blue haired man's left hand. Getting the blade between his arm and the dagger blade where it curved back over the arm, Morjidza brought his sword up, breaking the blue haired man's grip on his weapon. The dagger went flying, and was lost in the chaos. The blue haired man made the mistake of turning to run in the direction of the lost knife. Morjidza slashed downwards at the blue haired man's unprotected left leg. He fell with a scream as the steel bit into his leg. He crumpled in a heap on the ground, blood flowing freely from the new wound on his leg, reaching from midway up his thigh to right above his ankle. "Pathetic," said Morjidza. The blue haired man tried to stand up but his injured leg would not support his weight. "I was hoping for more from you," continued Morjidza. The blue haired man tried to shuffle away but Morjidza just walked closer, his sword shinning along one of the edges with the blue haired man's blood. The blue haired man looked over his shoulder and saw a body of a guard not so far away. The guard's sword was still at his side, shinning with the blood of a slain bird-monster. If he could just get a little closer... "Come on," said Morjidza tauntingly, "I thought you wanted to kill me? I was so sure you could do a little better than this." Just a little closer now… "And to think that a god ever fell to you." Continued Morjidza, "I thought that maybe you were a little more resourceful. Or maybe you are just nothing without your precious friends or Guardian to help you."_

_The blue haired man lunged for the fallen sword as soon as it was in arms reach. Before Morjidza could react, he thrust the sword in the direction of Morjidza's heart. It went right through, like a hot knife through butter. The blue haired man was holding the hilt of the sword right up to Morjidza's chest. Except, Morjidza was giving him a look that suggested that he was bored. The blue haired man let the sword go and staggered away from Morjidza, staring horrified at Morjidza, and the sword that had clearly just run him through. Morjidza removed the weapon from his chest like someone might remove a splinter. The sword was covered to the hilt in a thick liquid, much thicker than blood, the color of ink. "Tell me," said Morjidza, looking up at the blue haired man, more of the black liquid silently and slowly oozing from the gaping hole in his chest, "When I'm dead how were you going to save your friends?" _

_The blue haired man stared in horror, before turning around and running. "There's nowhere for you to run!" shouted Morjidza, whatever the hell he was, "They're all mine now! Them and everyone else! It's only a matter of time before you join them!" The blue haired man was deaf to these cries, limping away as fast as he could, knowing there really was nothing he could do for the others now. He had to get out of here and get some help, and then maybe he could save them. His limp slowed his down significantly, and he was deep inside the palace. That monstrosity calling itself Morjidza had every advantage, and would catch up to him eventually…

* * *

_

Allyr's thoughts were fuzzy, as if she had been heavily drugged. She lay like that for a long while, her eyes closed, not really asleep but not awake either. She felt sore all over, like she was recovering from a bad beating of some sort. She stirred when she heard a distant noise. She heard it again, it was a human voice, but what was it saying? It took her a long time, to realize that it was calling her name. "Allyr?" said the voice, "Allyr?" the voice sounded female, though Allyr could not place it. "Allyr, sweetie?" said the voice, "Are you awake?"

Allyr opened her eyes. She had to close them immediately as she was blinded with a bright white light. She groaned and covered her face with an arm. She could now smell something like disinfectant; it was strong and almost overpowering. Where had she smelled that before…? At the hospital. But what was she doing at the hospital?

She had spent about three seconds thinking this, before something big and fleshy seemed to swallow her up, "ALLYR!" shouted the voice she had heard before, "MY BABY! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT!"

"Mom…" said Allyr, recognizing the voice now. Her own voice was muffled by her mother's tight embrace, "You're strangling me…"

Her mother let her go, and Allyr could now sit up and look around. She was in a small hospital room, lying on one of those not-all-that-comfy beds that were common in hospitals. The walls were pained a light green, the floor and ceiling tiled white. A color combination Allyr always associated with hospitals. She looked down at herself. Her clothes had been replaced with a white hospital gown. She tried to remember what happened, how did she end up in a hospital? Then she remembered seeing the Sabre Dragon, and her confrontation with it. Her alarm must have shown on her face. "Don't worry dear," said her mother, "That monster's dead now, you don't have to worry."

Allyr tried to reach out for Kalas with her mind, and was met with… a wall. There was some kind of mental barrier separating her from Kalas. She knew that he was on the other side, but for some reason or other, he did not want to make any contact with her at all now. She had done this to him several times to him before when she had been the Guardian, particularly if she was in a bad mood. It was not all that hard for one to block out the other before. But why was he shutting her out now? What was wrong? Come to think of it, Kalas _had_ been acting kind of strange lately...

"We saw that… thing pop up on the news," said Allyr's brother Takei who had been standing behind his mother. He had been completely silent until now, "And when we saw mom's car on the broadcast, we knew you were out there… so…" He fell silent.

"How long have I been here?" asked Allyr, looking around the room again.

"You've been out cold for two whole days," said Takei, "I don't blame you. Whatever had happened to you, it was serious. The doctor's said you lost a lot of blood, with internal bleeding and everything. What did that thing do to you Allyr?"

Allyr just stared blankly at Takei. _I've been out for two whole days?_ She thought. She lay back down on the bed and groaned. Two days… damn.

"You feel all right honey?" asked Allyr's mother, sounding worried.

"I'm fine," she said, though she really felt awful. She wanted nothing more than to lie on this bed for the rest of forever.

"The doctors said you could leave in a few days," said Allyr's mother, "Just a little longer, and you'll be fine." Allyr managed a nod, and closed her eyes. Suddenly, the bed felt a little more comfortable. After a minute, her mother said to Takei quietly, "She's fallen asleep, poor girl. She really did go through a lot."

"Don't worry about her," said Takei, "She's too stubborn, she's not going anywhere." Takei laughed, "If Death paid her a visit, she'd probably tell him to hurry up and wait."

His mother smiled at the sleeping form of her only daughter, "Yes," she said, "I imagine so."

* * *

When Allyr woke up, it was to again be blinded by the light fixture in the ceiling. She sat up slowly, her body was still very sore. She sat there a while, trying to remember why she was like this, and why she was here. Then she remembered the dragon, again. She looked around the little room again. There was a window on the far wall she had not noticed before, and the door was behind her, so she had to twist around to see it. She also noticed that she was totally alone in the room. She tried reaching out for Kalas, but he stubbornly blocked her. 

"Kalas," she said, "Are you all right?"

No answer.

"Is something bothering you?"

Silence.

"Will you talk to me, please?"

_"There's nothing to say." _Mumbled Kalas, looking at the ceiling. He was floating in one of the corners where the far wall met the ceiling.

"Kalas what's wrong?" asked Allyr concerned, "This isn't like you."

_"I almost killed you!"_ snapped Kalas. Though to Allyr, it almost sounded like he was trying to hold back tears, _"It's my fault you got hurt so bad!"_

Allyr was at a loss for what to say. This was not like Kalas at all. Even after he gave up Malpercio's power, he had never isolated himself. Sure, he was depressed for days after, but he had not actually beaten himself up like this before, he had usually gotten over it relatively quickly. Why was he acting like this? "Kalas calm down," said Allyr soothingly. She had just opened her mouth to say, "Take a deep breath" before realizing just how bad that would sound, saying it to a spirit. Instead, she said, "Count to ten for me, please?" He did, she could hear him counting to ten under his breath. "Kalas," she said, hoping he had calmed down a little, "Don't beat yourself up about this. If you hadn't acted I'd have been trampled or eaten by the Sabre Dragon. You saved me. I'm not angry at you."

Kalas stayed silent. _"It shouldn't have happened,"_ he said after a pause.

"Kalas," started Allyr, "Are you _trying_ to make yourself miserable? You don't _have _to beat yourself up about this."

There was another uncomfortable pause. _"I was just…"_ started Kalas, _"If you died…"_

"But I'm not dead," said Allyr gently, "There's nothing to worry about."

_"I couldn't do anything for Xelha and the others!"_ burst out Kalas, _"If you had died then I wouldn't have been able to save anyone!"_ Allyr stayed totally silent, hoping that maybe Kalas would say more. He looked away, a little embarrassed by his outburst. Damn it, what had happened to his self-control? Or did he just not _give_ a damn anymore? Allyr sat patiently for a while, waiting to see if Kalas would add anything. He stayed silent. Allyr knew that Kalas cared for Xelha and his friends very much, what happened to them to affect Kalas like this?

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" asked Allyr, hoping she would not set him off.

With only a second's contemplation, Kalas launched into his story, _"After you left I married Xelha and we both decided to live in Wazn, so she could take care of her people."_ He started, _"About a month or so later, a group of guards patrolling in the Ice Mountains found a man in the snow, half-frozen to death. He claimed to be named Morjidza, but he didn't tell us anything else about his background, who he was, or where he came from. After recovering he stayed in the palace for a while longer.A week laterthere was a meeting of sorts called for the rulers of all the islands. They had wanted to discuss something, I never found out what, together as an international issue. They picked Wazn as their meeting ground. The night after they all came to the palace it was attacked by those bird monsters from Cor Hydrae. You remember them right Allyr?" _she nodded, _"No one saw them coming, they just seemed to come out of nowhere. All any of could do was fight for our lives, but there were many of them, and lots of people died. I saw one of them take Xelha…"_ Kalas paused, trying to get a grip again. He would be damned if he let himself fall to pieces now. After he recovered, he continued, _"Morjidza appeared an challenged me personally, saying he wanted to prove 'that you were the one strong enough to kill my master'."_

"His master?" interrupted Allyr, "Who's that?"

Kalas knew who Morjidza's master was, but should he tell Allyr? Was it worth instilling that kind of panic, over something that really was not worth it? _I can't just tell her Morjidza's a servant of Malpercio,_ he thought, _That would only complicate things. Besides,_ he reasoned, _It's not like he's going to come here._ _"I don't know,"_ lied Kalas, _"He didn't say."_ Allyr looked at Kalas, thinking. He plowed on with his story, hoping to drag the conversation away from Morjidza's supposed master, _"I fought him, and lost badly."_ Kalas considered for a minute, telling Allyr about how he had thought he had killed Morjidza. The memory of Morjidza pulling the sword out of his chest still gave Kalas chills. He decided, that this was something he could let slide to, _"All I could do was run."_ He continued,_ "He had already captured or killed everyone else. I couldn't help the others or the rulers if Morjidza killed me, and I was injured, so even if I tried there wasn't much could have done. But he caught up to me and captured me and then…"_ Kalas trailed off, and stayed silent.

"So," started Allyr, looking at her knees, "This Morjidza guy was the one that killed you?" Allyr felt Kalas give the equivalent of a nod.

_"After I was captured,"_ continued Kalas, _"I woke up in a cell-"_

"You don't have to tell me what he did to you," said Allyr quickly before Kalas could continue, "You don't have to relive that for me." _This explains a lot,_ Thought Allyr, still looking at her knees, _I think I'd act this way if my friends and family were carted off to suffer god knows what._ She looked back up at Kalas. _I hope he's going to be all right,_ she thought, _A spirit can't take antidepressants._ _Still,_ she looked back down at her knees, _This isn't like Kalas. He's unsure of himself and depressed. Could he be hiding something from me? What could he hide that would affect him like this?_

_"Thanks… for listening and all that,"_ mumbled Kalas, _"It helps."_

"No prob." Was Allyr's only response. She looked out the window at the bright sunny day, which suddenly seemed very inappropriate for her mood.

She looked behind her when she heard the door open. Vivian walked in, looking worried. Allyr smiled at her friend, "Hi Vivi," she said, "How's life been?"

Vivian smiled, somewhat meekly, "I'm fine," she said, "It's you I'm worried about."

Allyr stared at Vivian, "Are you feeling all right?" she asked, "You're really calm."

Most people would not call Vivian 'calm' right now. She was fidgeting with a loose thread at the bottom of her shirt, the way she always did when she was nervous. She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other, as if afraid that if she stood still her feet would be burned. She looked around the room, as if looking for any possible eavesdroppers. "Are you feeling all right?" repeated Allyr.

"What?" said Vivian, "Oh," she added, looking embarrassed, "I just… wanted to say hi… that's all."

"Don't worry about me," said Allyr laughing, "I'll be fine."

"Are… are you sure?" asked Vivian, "I mean," she added, walking over next the to bed Allyr was lying on, "What happened out there? You started glowing, and then a lot of water appeared and killed that monster. Then you keeled over, and you were bleeding really bad…" she trailed off, "What happened to you?" asked Vivian, looking worried.

Allyr felt Kalas's discomfort. He looked away, embarrassed. _So much for Vivian ever trusting me with Allyr's life again._ He thought. He knew Vivian was the kind of person who would probably never forgive him for hurting Allyr.

"It's nothing, really," said Allyr to Vivian, "Vivi, don't worry so much." She added, laughing.

"Are… you sure?" she asked, but nonetheless, looked relieved, "Are you sure you're okay?"

Allyr smiled at her friend, "Yes," she said, "I'm alright. Now stop worrying, when you worry it makes me worry." Allyr spent the next ten minutes listening to Vivian, as she talked about what had gone on in her life since Allyr had gotten into the hospital. Vivian apparently, had called an ambulance after Allyr had fallen unconscious, and had been worried about her friend ever since. By the time Vivian left, Allyr was feeling a little better. _Maybe they'll let me out sooner._ She thought. _I'd like that. I hate the smell of disinfectant._

After a pause, Kalas said, _"Thanks for not telling her… that I was the one that hurt you."_

"I thought I told you to stop worrying about that," said Allyr, turning to look at Kalas, "And it's no problem. I didn't think you wanted me to announce it to the world."

* * *

Allyr stayed at the hospital for a total of ten days, the last day she was kept for 'observation' as the doctors called it. When she was told that she could leave, she could not have been happier. Now she could leave and smell more than disinfectant for once. It was a Saturday when Allyr left, and thus she was left to her own devices. She had decided that a walk would be nice, as she had not moved on her own for further than a yard for ten days. She was in the park, once again, with practically no one in sight, which suited her just fine, when it started to snow. 

They were little clumps of snow, falling lazily almost as if gravity could wait. It had been a cold day, but it had not been expected to snow. Allyr however, was overjoyed. "It's snowing!" she shouted to no one in particular, "Winter's on its way! I love winter! What do you think Kalas?" Silence greeted this. "Kalas?" Allyr said sounding worried. She looked up at him, floating a little ways behind her. He did not seem to be able to hear her.

He was looking up at the sky, and the little clumps of snow making their slow descent to the ground. Suddenly he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. He was in the middle of a violent blizzard, making his slow progress, trying to fight off the wind and the cold that bit at his exposed skin like knives. The cold seemed to seep into him despite any and all efforts to keep himself warm. It took all of his will just to keep moving, the snow freezing his exposed calves. He dragged his injured leg behind him, now completely useless. It slowed him down significantly, and made walking all the harder. He could only keep going, hoping that maybe he would find shelter of some sort. Or maybe someone would find him and save him…

"Kalas?" said Allyr again, "Are you all right?"

_"Huh?"_ he said, suddenly snapping out of his trance. He found himself back with Allyr, in another world entirely, and he was already long gone. _"Sorry,"_ he said, turning to her, _"What did you say?"_

"Are you all right?" asked Allyr again, "You sorta, phased out for a minute."

_"_… _It's nothing,"_ he said finally, looking back up at the sky and the falling snow, _"Nothing at all."_

Allyr said nothing. He had said that he had Xelha had gone to live in Wazn after they were married, did the snow remind him of something from then? She had never seen him bothered by snow before, unless he was buried in it. _He must really miss his home,_ she thought beginning to walk on, _I remember feeling that way. Except there isn't anything to distract Kalas from his homesickness, I had the End Of The World to worry about, and he's just sort of here. Well there was that Sabre dragon…_

Wait… the Sabre dragon…

"Kalas," said Allyr, stopping dead in her tracks, "How did the monsters that attacked you get there? Did you ever find out?"

_"Morjidza claimed that he summoned them,"_ he said, thinking he knew where Allyr was going with this, _"Why?"_

Allyr turned a little white. "Do you think Morjidza summoned that Sabre dragon?" said Allyr, looking behind her at Kalas, "Do you think it's possible that he brought it here? I mean, it looked like it was going after me…" she trailed off, not wanting to complete the statement.

_"I don't know why he would,"_ said Kalas, _"He doesn't have any reason to. I don't even think he knows you exist."_

"Yes, but he might know _you're_ here!" said Allyr, "Maybe Vivian was right, maybe he sent that thing to knock me off so you would really, _really_ go away."

_"How would he know I'm here?"_ asked Kalas, _"Even if he did know I'm here, I'm no threat to him. I'm in a completely different _world_. There's no reason for him to go after me."_

"He sounds like a raving lunatic to me," said Allyr, "Raving lunatics rarely have any reasons for doing stuff, right?" Kalas was not sure how to answer this. "Wait a minute," said Allyr as this began to sink in, "That means… I'm being stalked by a homicidal psycho!" Completed Allyr panicking. "I can't fight! If he goes after me I'm toast!"

_"Whole wheat or white?"_ said Kalas. After getting a very angry glare from Allyr, he said, _"I'm just trying to make you feel a little better! That's what a Guardian's supposed to do, right?"_ When she did not stop glaring at him, he went on, hoping to bring to conversation elsewhere, _"Anyway, Morjidza himself might not be able to come here. If all he can send over are monsters like Sabre dragons then we're fine."_

"So, you've got this Spirit Spell thing pinned down now, right?" asked Allyr, sounding unsure. Right as she said it she knew she made a mistake, now was not the time for them to have doubts of any kind. If anything, they needed to trust each other more than ever.

After a pause, Kalas said, _"Yes, I think I've got it down."_

"Yes!" Said Allyr, trying to sound cheerful, "All for one and one for all and whatnot!"

She turned around when she heard footsteps to see an older couple, middle aged, come walking down the path, giving Allyr a strange look. "Hi!" she said, waving at the couple, "Lovely weather isn't it?" she had hoped that this would make her look a little saner, just in case the couple saw her talking to Kalas. If anything, the rather nondescript couple just gave her an even stranger look, and just passed by, making an obvious effort to stay as far away from Allyr as possible, while trying not to make it look so.

_"You're really bad at this,"_ said Kalas. Allyr could feel him and his self-satisfaction.

"You're one to talk," said Allyr, putting her hands behind her head, "You weren't much better at this yourself if I remember correctly." Kalas seemed to go temporarily deaf, and took an acute interest in a park bench a little further up the path.

* * *

That Monday, Allyr awoke to her alarm clock talking about the latest sale over at some fashion store downtown. And as always, a violent beating brought the little device to complete and utter silence. _"You're going to destroy that thing someday,"_ commented Kalas as Allyr, tried to wake up. She ignored him as she got up and pulled the curtains back to look up on her lawn. It was still dark but she could see that they had gotten a lot of snow over night. 

_I've got to drive through that._ She thought dully. _Damn._

Again she went through her mornings as normally as possible. Takei and her mother went about their various tasks or whatever, and said little to Allyr. Then she went and got in the car and started on the drive to school. The driving conditions were not as bad as Allyr had expected, but there were still many slowdowns. Kalas took this opportunity to ask many of his thousands of questions, and Allyr answered them all before she would have to stop talking to him when she arrived. And she was happy to answer his questiosn. If he was asking questions then he was not being plagued by homesickness, and that was good. When she did arrive at school, she was immediately swarmed with people who wanted to ask about being attacked by the Sabre dragon.

"Was it scary?" asked one girl who looked oddly young.

"What was it? Did anyone say?" said a boy who just looked curious.

"I heard it spat _fire_! Is that true? I heard it burnt a _huge _chunk of the road and a lot of policemen!" shouted another boy about her age who was a known pyromaniac.

"Where did that thing come from? Did it just pop out of nowhere?" asked another girl.

Allyr, who was unused to so much attention, lost her temper. "Give me a little room to breathe please!" she shouted angrily over the hubbub, "Yes, when something that big is bearing down of you it's frightening. I don't know what it is. Yes it did spit fire. And I don't know where the hell it cam from. _Now_ will you _please _let me breathe?"

The crowd dissipated, chattering happily. _If I make it through today without being crushed by a curious crowd I'll be lucky._ Thought Allyr.

_"I thought everyone was _afraid_ of the Sabre dragon,"_ commented Kalas, _"Now everyone's asking you about it like it was some fascinating animal at the zoo."_

Allyr shrugged, "In this society," she said, "We're fascinated by stuff like that."

The rest of the day was pretty mundane, until she reached her English class. She had heard that her normal English teacher, Mr. Trotter, was out on injury. ("Maybe he was there when that monster attacked," speculated one student whose name Allyr did not know.) Supposedly the substitute teacher was pretty good, and many of the female students claimed, pretty good-looking. Now Allyr was just sitting at her desk, with notebook and pencil, waiting for something interesting to happen. She looked up when the door to the classroom opened, and the chatter of many of the students died down. The person, who walked in, Allyr assumed, was the substitute. He, for it was definitely a man as the female students had claimed, was in his mid to late twenties. He wore a pair of business-like light gray-colored pants, and a knitted black, turtleneck. His skin was oddly pale, like it might have never seen the sun. His hair reached down easily to his shoulders, and it was black, like a shiny crow's wing. His eyes were so dark they were almost black, and there seemed to be something almost hypnotic about them.

She was broken out of her trance, when she felt Kalas's stunned surprise. "What's wrong?" she whispered, hoping he would hear her, and no one else.

_"It's… it's…"_ he said, sounding like he could not get the words out.

"Stutters don't become you Kalas," whispered Allyr, "What's wrong?"

"Good morning everyone," said the substitute, walking in looking very confident. "It's good to see you all."

_"It's _him_!" _said Kalas, voice turning to pure hate,_ "It's him! Morjidza!"

* * *

_

It's the English substitute, **_FROM HELL_**!

So once again, please review and all that jazz.


	7. Vanishing Point

Anyone notice that the story had 22,221 words last chapter? If only I had put just one more adjective somewhere, that would have been amazing...

Anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Nor do I own the "For Dummies" books. Understood?

* * *

Chapter VI: Vanishing Point 

_The blue haired man stirred slightly. He groaned in pain as his leg flared up like a sudden fire. He curled up instinctively, gritting his teeth and closing his eyes in pain. When the pain subsided, he relaxed, opened his eyes and tried to get his bearings back. _Where am I?_ He thought, _Last thing I remember was…_ it sunk in as if he had been punched in the stomach,_ I was captured by Morjidza._ He tried sitting up, but his aching muscles protested too loudly and he had to lie back down on the hard metal floor. He looked around the small room he was now in from his vantage point on the floor. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made of a dark colored metal, tinted a dark red. The only light in the little room came from a small light bulb fixed in the ceiling. Its light was steady, but dim. The room was small, if he stood up and spread out his arms he could have touched either wall. There was a door set in the far wall, but there were no windows for him to look out. He could have been anywhere._

_He looked around the room, a cell he realized, with a sort of detached interest. He suddenly felt so hopeless and empty; he was almost beyond caring what happened to himself anymore. If he could not even save himself what was the point in trying to save the others? After lying on the ground for a few minutes, he tried sitting up again. His muscles still ached by he managed to sit up all the way this time. He looked down at his left leg, and then grimaced. The gash on his leg was caked in dried blood, and it looked like the injury might even be infected. He reached out and touched it gingerly. The wound was still tender and it hurt a lot. _Just my damn luck._ He thought, letting his arm drop down to his side. _

_He looked around the room again, thinking, as there was not much else to do. _Where am I anyway? Why did Morjidza just capture me and not kill me? What did he do with the others? What's he going to do to me? Is he just going to leave me here until I starve to death or something?_ He looked around, maybe hoping for some kind of answer. None came. He wrapped his arms around his legs, careful to avoid the cut on his leg. He rest his head on his knees and stared at the opposite wall. There was not much he could do other than just sit here and wait for something to happen…

* * *

_

"You've got to be kidding me Kalas!" hissed Allyr at Kalas, "I thought you said Morjidza couldn't come here!"

_"That… bastard…"_ said Kalas, ignoring Allyr completely. Kalas was practically radiating hate, _"He's the reason I'm like this. He took everything away from me…"_

"Kalas," said Allyr, becoming worried, "Calm down, there's nothing you can do-"

_"I'LL KILL HIM!"_ shouted Kalas, completely oblivious to Allyr and everything else, _"I'LL MAKE HIM PAY FOR EVERYTHING HE DID TO ME!"_

"_Kalas_!" hissed, Allyr, "Now's _not_ the time, you can't do anything about it! You can't strike off on another vigilante mission now! There's nothing you can do about it! Just calm down!"

"Something bothering you?" asked the substitute, turning to Allyr. Apparently, everyone had started staring at Allyr. She looked around the room, feeling very naked under their gazes. Had they heard her talking to Kalas? Did they think she was schitzo? It would not have surprised Allyr at all, judging from the strange looks on everyone's faces. Allyr looked up at the substitute, and he seemed genuinely concerned. Could this man really have killed Kalas?

"Um," started Allyr, trying to think of an excuse as soon as possible, "I need to go to the bathroom,"

"Then by all means," said the substitute. Allyr needed all of her willpower to not just bolt out of the room. She did however, leave for the girl bathroom, hoping that she might be able to talk to Kalas alone there. When she arrived, she quickly made sure they _were_ alone, before rounding on Kalas, looking very angry.

"What's up?" snapped Allyr, "What's _wrong_ with you Kalas?"

_"That was Morjidza!" _said Kalas, sounding angry that he had been dragged off, _"Why did you leave?"_ he snapped angrily, _"Why didn't you stay and let me finish him off?"_

"You couldn't have _seriously_ expected me to commit murder in front of everyone!" retorted Allyr, "And how do you know this guy is Morjidza? How do you know that this guy isn't just some normal English substitute who just _happens_ to look like the guy who killed you?"

_"How likely is that?"_ said Kalas, _"That this guy who just _happens _to look like Morjidza just _happens_ to come to your school, and just _happens_ to come here while I'm with you!"_

"You can't prove it's him!" said Allyr, "I can't go and kill somebody just because they look like someone else. What would I say to the cops?"

_"Why would they care?"_ said Kalas, _"It's not murder if you killed Morjidza."_

"They don't know that!" said Allyr, "And that kind of stuff is frowned upon here!" Kalas made a noise like a grunt. "Okay then, _Guardian,_" said Allyr annoyed now, "What's your plan of action?" She looked up at him expectantly, arms crossed across her chest. When Kalas was did not answer her, Allyr sighed. "How about this?" she started, "If you can prove to me that the substitute is Morjidza, then we can talk about possible ways of bumping him off. Until then, we stay as far away as possible, so we don't attract attention. Okay?"

_"Fine,"_ muttered Kalas a little grudgingly, _"How do you want me to prove that this guy's Morjidza?"_

"Well," started Allyr, thinking, "Other than his appearance, what makes you so sure this guy's Morjidza?" When Kalas did not answer, she smiled up at him, "Don't worry so much," she said, "I'm sure this is just a perfectly normal English substitute who just has the misfortune of looking like your murderer."

_"Oh, I'm _sure _he is,"_ muttered Kalas, his voice dripping sarcasm.

"Kalas," said Allyr sounding annoyed, "Can't you just let this slide for one minute?"

_"No,"_ said Kalas stubbornly.

"Look," said Allyr, trying to keep her temper in check, "You even _said_ that Morjidza couldn't come here, right?"

_"I said he _might_ not,"_ said Kalas shortly, _"I was wrong. Lay off already!"_

"Oh, you were _wrong_ then?" said Allyr, tauntingly having reached the end of her patience, "Well I shouldn't be surprised then, you have a history of 'being wrong' don't you!" An uncomfortable silence followed this outburst. Allyr blushed and looked down at her feet, "I… I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I didn't mean it…"

_"Don't apologize,"_ said Kalas, _"You don't have to."_

"Um… you do know… that we all forgive you… right?" said Allyr, trying to make amends.

_"Yeah,"_ said Kalas, almost to himself, _"I know."_

Allyr sighed in relief, "Thanks," she said, "Now let's go back, and try to go through this day as normally as possible."

_"Define 'normal'."_ Said Kalas glumly.

* * *

The remainder of the lesson was almost normal. Almost. The substitute led the discussion about the novel they were reading just as any English teacher would. There was nothing about his appearance or manner to suggest that he had ever murdered or conspired to murder or conceive/commit any similar acts. This did not however, calm Kalas down. Throughout the entire lesson he seethed with obvious hate, which was hard for Allyr to shut out of her mind. Allyr decided then that if she ever saw a book titled "Vengeful Spirits for Dummies" she would buy it without a second thought. Maybe "Vengeful Spirits for Dummies" might have something in it about how to calm said spirits down. Or at least get them to stop radiating hate long enough for Allyr to live a relatively normal life. When the period was over, she hastily scrambled to get out, but was unfortunately the last to leave. She was so intent on leaving the room that she did not notice the object of her disagreement with Kalas walk up to her until he tapped her on the shoulder. 

"Hello," said the English substitute, looking concerned, "Are you all right? You've seemed awfully anxious the whole lesson."

She turned and saw him standing next to her, looking genuinely worried. "Um, yeah," she said, a little hesitantly, "I'm fine."

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said. He held out a hand, he politely told her his full name looking for all the world as if he just wanted to get to know her.

_Why the formality?_ Thought Allyr. She would have shaken the hand, except Kalas was pretty much radiating hate, and she had the feeling that if she even became slightly friendly with this man, she would never hear the end of it. "Um, sir," she started, "Don't you think this is a bit… forward?"

He looked at Allyr a mildly surprised look on his face, and then laughed. It was then that Allyr finally noticed that she was alone in the room with the substitute, everyone else had already retreated, "What's wrong with wanting to get to know you?" he said smiling warmly at her.

Allyr was getting nervous now. A man who was a supposed murderer was trying to get friendly with her. "I need to leave soon," she said, adjusting her backpack on her back as she prepared to leave.

"What's the rush?" he said, leaning a little to get a bettor look at Allyr, taking her hand. She felt him press a piece of paper into her palm. "But, if you must go," he said, seeming a little sad. Then he straightened up, "See you tomorrow, Allyr." And he turned back to the desk in where he had stood for most of the class, apparently preparing for the next wave of students. Allyr walked out hurriedly, gripping the paper in her hand, wondering where the hell this was going to go.

As she walked down the hall to her next lesson, Allyr looked down at the piece of paperthe substitutehad given her. It looked normal enough, lined and folded neatly. She stuck it in her jeans pocket to look at in private. _"He's planning something,"_ said Kalas, almost to himself.

"Can you _not_ be paranoid about this guy for just one minute?" hissed Allyr, though she was beginning to feel a little paranoid herself.

As soon as the school day was over, Allyr rushed to her she car and swung herself in. After closing the door and making sure that no one else was paying any attention to her, she took out the little piece of paper from her pocket. She unfolded it carefully and read the message written on the paper in a neat curly hand:

_Why try to save a man who is already dead?_

_"What'd I tell you?"_ said Kalas looking down at the note from over Allyr's shoulder, sounding smug, _"He is Morjidza, just admit it."_

"And why do you sound so happy about this?" said Allyr, giving him a look he could not identify, "Your murderer has popped up, and will probably try to kill me. Now tell me, what's good about this again?"

_"So you _do_ admit that this guy is Morjidza!"_ said Kalas triumphantly.

"Fine, fine," said Allyr annoyed, "This guy's Morjidza. Now tell me, why are you so happy about a homicidal psycho cropping up who will probably try to kill me?"

_"This means I can finally get-"_

"Your revenge, I guessed about as much. And just how do you plan to do that?"

_"Well, you aren't just going to let this guy kill you now are you?"_

"Are you trying to manipulate me?"

_"No, I'm just pointing out the facts."_

"Damn it Kalas! I can't just go and kill somebody, and say I did it because the little voice in my head told me to!"

_"If he attacks you first it's self-defense."_

"Okay, I understand wanting to kill this guy, but aren't you being a little obsessive about this? You didn't even act this way when you tried to hunt down Giacomo."

_"Giacomo didn't kill me." _said Kalas with frightening bluntness.

"Well…" Allyr trailed off, unsure how to reply to this. "Wait," she started, looking at the paper, "There's something else." She flipped it over, and saw a date, time, and address written in the same hand on the back of the paper. It was today's date, the time that was written was 5:45. "Talk about melodramatic," she thought, looking at the address.

_"That's definitely Morjidza then,"_ commented Kalas dryly, _"He did seem like one for theatrics."_

Allyr bit back a retort as she looked at the date and time. "You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered. "What do you think he means by all this?"

_"Isn't it obvious?"_ said Kalas, _"He wants to meet up with you then."_

Allyr snorted, "Why should I? It's not like he has any power over me. I'm not stupid enough to walk right into the hands of a nut job that probably wants me dead." She looked up at Kalas, crumpling up the note, "Unless you've got a brilliant argument that will make me go whether I really want to or not."

_"Well," _started Kalas, as if seriously thinking about it, _"There's always the possibility that if you don't, he'll take a shot at your friends and family."_

"Thanks for the confidence boost Kalas." Said Allyr shortly, chucking the note at the dashboard in anger, "But I'm still not going. Besides," she added, "If he really wanted to kill me he would have gotten it over with already. I was stuck in the same room as him for over _forty minutes_, and he didn't even _try_ to hurt me. He's probably all bark and no bite anyway. And that's that!" with those last three words, she started up the car engine, and drove off.

* * *

Takei always looked forward to the end of a school day, just as any other sane student did. He was usually in such a happy daze that he paid little to no attention to his surroundings on the long walk home. He had tread the path between school and home so often, he probably could do it blindfolded. He allowed his thoughts to wander while his body was on autopilot. Often he would worry about an up coming test or think about a planned even with some buddies of his while he walked the well known road home. He was usually so inattentive that he would not have noticed anything short of a bomb exploding. He never stopped on the route home, or was ever stopped by anyone. Which was why he was taken by surprise when someone tapped him on the shoulder, "Excuse me," said a male voice behind him, "Are you Takei Mayers?" 

"Um, yeah." Said Takei, turning around to face the speaker, "Why do you-"

Before he could get a proper look at the person behind him, he felt something strike him on the side of the head. He fell over onto the hard pavement, feeling warm blood drip down the side of his face, and fell into absolute darkness.

* * *

"What do you mean have I seen Takei?" asked Allyr, a couple hours later, "I've been here the whole time. It's not like he wanders into my room." 

It was about five o'clock, and Allyr had been sitting at a desk in her room, attacking her homework when her mother had come in asking if she had seen Takei. Her mother looked anxious, "He hasn't come home yet," she said, "I'm worried about him."

"Have you tried calling his cell phone?" asked Allyr, looking up from her biology textbook, "He's usually good about that."

"I did," said Mrs. Mayers, "I didn't get an answer."

"I'm sure he's just with some friends and he left his cell off," said Allyr reassuringly, "He'll be home in half an hour."

Half an hour passed, Takei did not come home. "Mom, stop worrying," said Allyr, "If you want me to, I'll go look for him,"

"No, I should go," she said.

"Mom," said Allyr, "I insist."

"…All right," said Mrs. Mayers, "Just come back soon. I don't want you to go missing to."

"Don't worry," said Allyr calmly, smiling reassuringly at her mother, "I'll probably find him at one of his favorite haunts."

Allyr left and got into her mother's green car. After she started up the engine, she searched around the car for the out the little piece of paper that the English substitute, Morjidza had given her. When she found it, she grabbed it, tried to un-crumple the note, and checked the address on the note. _"So you're going to meet him?"_ asked Kalas._ "You think he took Takei?"_

"Shut up," snapped Allyr irritably, "You can save your 'I told you so' for later."

As the pair departed in the green car, neither noticed that they were being watched. A little girl stood partially concealed by a tree in the yard, as if she did not want to be seen… yet. The little girl's hair, skin and simple dress were white as snow. She watched Allyr drive out of her driveway, and drive off to rescue her brother. As Allyr shrank into the distance, the little girl followed the car with dark eyes, that were nothing but black, like night without a star.

* * *

So once again, please review. Yeah... 


	8. Heart's Desire

Last chapter I had 25,252 words. This is beginning to freak me out...

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Okay? (How many times do I _really_ need to repeat this...?)

* * *

Chapter VII: Heart's Desire 

_The blue haired man did not know how long he had been held captive in the cell. There was no clock or window out to the sky, so he could not tell the time. He could have been held in there for minutes, or days. He was not claustrophobic, but he hated being cramped up in small places. Sometimes, if his injured leg would permit, he would stand up and pace a couple feet, trying to keep himself occupied. Though this never lasted, as his injured leg would always give eventually, and he would have to lie or sit down. Other times, he tried to pass the time simply by sleeping, but his thoughts were always buzzing with questions, so he could never sleep. Why was he being held like this? What was Morjidza planning? What happened to the others? Were they going through this? Or were they already dead?_

_Such thoughts did not cheer him up at all. Soon he was pretty much convinced that if he did not die here, he would just go mad worrying about the fate of his friends and wife. No one had come into the cell since he had been thrown in. He did not have food or water in what felt like weeks. He could feel himself getting weaker by the day, or what felt to him like by the day. The pacing grew harder to do, and he eventually stopped, trying to preserve whatever strength he had left. Eventually, he lost all hope of ever getting out of his miserable little prison. He had studied the door obsessively for a long time after he had woken up in the cell. But as there were no hinges or bolts he could find, there was no way he could find to break out on his own. He had even tried pressing his ear to the door, trying to hear the voice of a guard, or anything else,beyond. That effort was to be in vain. The door and walls must have been soundproofed, because he never heard anything other than his own breathing._

_He had been lying on his side, back to the door, when he heard someone come in. The hinges of the door creaked loudly as if actively protesting against being used. A flood of light filled the room as if some strange invisible dam had been destroyed. After being in the cell with the dim light bulb for days, the light was absolutely blinding. He suddenly became aware of a soft, rhythmic, humming sound, like a large engine somewhere in the distance. He sat up slowly, an arm in front of his face, trying to figure out who was there. "There you are," said a gruff male voice coming from the direction of the open door, "You're coming with me." He was suddenly unsure, if he should be happy that he was leaving his prison, or afraid because he did not know where he would be taken now…

* * *

_

Takei groaned, trying to get his bearings. He opened his eyes a crack, and tried to figure out where he was. He was tied up, held upright by a stick or pole of some sort. He tried to remember how he had gotten here. Lets see… he had been leaving school when… did he get mugged?

"You're finally awake," said a voice. Takei looked in the direction of the speaker and saw a man in his late twenties, leaning against a metal mesh fence. He was wearing dark gray pants and a knitted, black, turtlenecksweater. His long black hair fell almost to his shoulders, and he looked intently at Takei with deep black eyes. Takei looked around and saw they were in a basketball court. One of those courts open to the public so anybody can walk in and play a game. Takei twisted around a little and saw that he was tied to the base of one of the nets. It had snowed the previous night, so the court was covered in a layer of snow. Frost clung to the net and the metal mesh fence. Takei was grateful that he still had his coat on, or he would be freezing to the pole he was tied to right now. "I wouldn't shout for help if I were you," said the man leaning again the fence, "It would be a terrible waste of energy. I've warded this place, no sound can leave it, and no one can see in. And only two other souls besides you can I can see through my ward: Your sister, and her Guardian."

"W…what?" said Takei, wondering if he was the victim of some really bad joke, or maybe, despite the sweater, the cold was getting to this man's head, "What do you mean warded? How do you do that? And what do you mean by my sister's Guardian? She doesn't have one."

The man shrugged, "I'm not really that surprised she didn't tell you," he said, sounding uninterested, "She probably did not want her own brother to think she was loosing her mind."

"What's she got to do with this?" said Takei, trying to keep this man talking. He did not have any other plans.

"She's… a bother,"said the man, "A thorn in my side if you must. An irritation I'd rather like to be rid of. Such a pity really," he added, looking up at the sky that was already darkening, "Guardian Spirits are so rare. Such a shame to have to kill the only pair in your world."

Takei wondered if this man might be a little mad, "What are you going on about?" he said, "Guardian Spirits? Like Guardian Angels? They're not real. Just stories." Then something occurred to him, "What do you mean, 'only pair in _your_ world'?"

"It's just as it sounds," said the man, "She's the only human in your world, right now, who is bonded to a Guardian. I wonder who her Guardian is." He started speculating, "Maybe I've met him or her before."

"You're… you're mad," said Takei, trying in vain to get a little further away from this man. He was _clearly_ mad, there was just no other explanation. There _were_ no such things as supernatural guardians, it just could not be.

The man shrugged, "If you wish to think that way you can," he said, "It does not matter to me."

"You know this is illegal!" Takei shouted at the man, "You can't just go and kidnap people and do with them as you please!"

"Oh?" said the man, turning to Takei, raising a thin eyebrow, "I can't? What are you going to do? Tell the police? They won't make any difference. Besides," he grinned at Takei, a smile that frightened him on many levels, "They aren't here now, are they?"

Takei remained silent, and he and the man just waited. Only what felt like hours later to Takei, did he hear something that gave him some hope. "TAKEI!" shouted a female voice, close by. He looked up and saw his sister Allyr, who had just walked onto the court.

"You're several minutes late," said the man, straightening up, frowning at her as if he was a teacher and she was a student who always managed to come to class late.

"Shut up!" she snapped, "What the hell do _you _want?"

Takei just stared at his sister, what did _she _know that he did not? Had she met this man before? "Why, what's so wrong about wanting to get to know you?" said the man, smiling at her.

Allyr looked furious, "You give me back my brother," she demanded, "Or I'll-"

"My oh my, talk about an impulsive little girl." Said the man. "I just wanted to show you something." _Get her off of her guard,_ he thought. He knew that if she decided to try to cast one of the Spirit Spells now, he would not have half a chance. She could burn him to a crisp before he could get close enough to harm her. Just ease her and her Guardian off their guard and then comes the easy part…

_"This is some kind of trick,"_ whispered Kalas to Allyr, just incase this man could hear him.

"I _knew_ that!" she hissed back at him.

_"Why don't we just attack him _now_ and get this over with?"_ whispered Kalas, sounding like what he _really_ wanted to do was take a sword and dice this black-haired bastard into lots of little slippery cubes.

"He's standing too close to Takei," replied Allyr, sounding like she was envisioning something similar, "I don't want to hit _him_ with a Spell."

"Do you suspect me of some kind of trick?" said the man, taking note of Allyr's conversation with the air, "I only took your brother to get your attention."

"Well, you got it," snapped Allyr, "And generally, I find murderers to be untrustworthy." _Just keep this guy talking,_ she thought, _Come on, get cocky and walk just a few paces to your right _away_ from my brother._

"What makes you think I'm a murderer?" he said, sounding genuinely hurt, "Why would you think that?"

"A little fish flopped to shore and told me about you," said Allyr blandly, "Your name's Morjidza, right?"

The man smiled at her, and there was something about that smile that made Allyr think of big things in dark places. Big things with pointy teeth, "Well, well," he said, "So I take it your Guardian met me before."

"You could say that," said Allyr, watching Morjidza very carefully, still waiting for him to stray too far from her brother.

_She knows this guy?_ Thought Takei stunned, _Just what the hell is going on?_

"Don't you want to see what it is I have to show you?" said Morjidza, smiling over at Allyr.

"No," she said, "Not really."

Morjidza started walking over to her, but stopped when she tensed visibly. He sighed deeply, "If you wish to be stubborn," he said. He pulled out a knife, seemingly out of nowhere, and held it at Takei's throat, "Why don't you come over here?" he said, pressing the knife against Takei's exposed neck, "Like a good girl?"

She was seething with anger, but knew that if she did not do as he asked, he would kill her brother. But then, if she did not do as he asked, he would kill her, _then_ kill her brother. Neither option really appealed to her. She walked over, carefully, expecting to feel that knife land itself in her ribcage at any time. "Why are you so anxious?" said Morjidza, as Allyr walked over to him, "I mean you no harm."

"And I'm the king of Australia," retorted Allyr sarcastically, "What do you want?"

Allyr was standing five feet from Morjidza. He relaxed the knife at Takei's throat, and started to walk over to Allyr. She jumped back, tense as if preparing to attack Morjidza. He stopped, walked back to Takei and pressed the knife back against the boy's throat, giving Allyr an impatient look. Allyr swore under her breath and walked back up to Morjidza. When she was back within five feet of him, he carefully put the knife on the ground not taking his eyes off of Allyr for a second. He straightened up and walked a foot closer to Allyr. "I want to show you something," he said, softly, as if he was telling her a secret, "I wantto show you something very special."

"What?" said Allyr, louder than normal, purposely in contrast to his soft tone.

He was standing right next to her now, and she could feel Kalas's burning desire to do this man harm. Morjidza smiled at her, "Your heart's desire." He said simply. He waved an arm in front of her face, and suddenly the colors that made up the world seemed to run and mix, like wet watercolors mixing on a damp piece of paper. Suddenly there was no up or down, just a swirling mass of colors that made out nothing in a random swirl that dazed the senses.

_What's going on?_ She thought panicking, wondering if she was going to find herself without ground to stand on, or fall into a multicolored sky. Then the colors solidified, and Allyr found herself someplace completely different. She was standing on a low grassy hill, covered in wildflowers. A cloudless blue sky floated above her head. The hill flattened off into a field covered in the same wildflowers stretching from horizon to horizon. The air smelled faintly of grass and flowers, and it seemed calming to Allyr. _Where am I?_ She thought, looking around, _Is this an illusion, or have I been teleported somewhere else?_ She started walking down the hill, trying to figure out what was going on. She seemed to be alone here, with no one else in sight.

"Hey, Kalas,"she said, feeling very alone, "Do you have any idea..." she trailed off when it occured to her that he was not listening. "Kalas?" she said, reaching out for him with her mind, "You there?" He was there, but he did seem to be in a... trance? Whatever it was, he was not responding to anything Allyr said or did. Whatever he was seeing, it was seperate from what Allyr was seeing, she could figure out that much at the very least. This did not, however, help. _Okay, _she thought, looking around at the strange landscape, _If he's in a trance, then I must be. _She kicked at a clump of grass, which felt very real, despite her latest conclusion, _So... how do I get out? _She spun around suddenly when she heard someone laugh, or a group of people laughing. Curious, she started walking in the direction of the sound.

Takei stood and stared at Allyr, who must be nuts as well, she was just walking around the court, with a look on her face that suggested that she was seeing something other than the concrete, snow and fence. Morjidza smiled, "Perfect," he said to himself, a grin like that of a hungry animal crossing his face, "Now for the fun part." Takei stared in disbelief as Morjidza's body was surrounded with bright white light. He had to look away, the light was so blinding. WhenTakei looked back, he became a believer. Where the man calling himself Morjidza had stood, was something most definitely _not_ human. Its skin was clammy looking, and pale yellow, almost scaly in texture. It was too tall, its body and limbs too long and thin. It had six arms, all of which sprouted from its shoulders. Instead of legs, it had more tentacles than Takei cared to count. Its head was that of a crocodile, with a long mouth, though it seemed to lack the crocodile's razor teeth. It slithered, slithered for there is no other way to describe the movement, over to Allyr, who still seemed to be lost in a daydream.

"Allyr!" shouted Takei desperately, "Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Allyr was deaf to these cries; she was still walking in that field of wildflowers. She had found the source of the laughter, and her heart seemed to jump to her throat. There were three people standing together in the field. Two she recognized as her mother and brother, both seeming to be enjoying themselves. The third was a tall man in his late forties, balding slightly, with short black hair and round glasses. He looked up at Allyr and smiled. He waved to her, as if beckoning her over. _…Dad?_ Thought Allyr, feeling numb. Her mother was hugging the man tightly, as if nothing else existed. Soon, when her mother and brother noticed Allyr staring at them as if dumbstruck, they started waving to Allyr too, beckoning. _Why wait?_ She thought, forgetting what had happened before. It all just seemed to fade away, the way a nightmare does after waking. It seemed so… distant now. Had it really happened? Did she care? She took a step to go to them…

_"STOP IT!"_ shouted a pained voice. The shout was like a physical blow, shaking her out of her daze. It was as if someone had broken a mirror in an otherwise silent room, the sound seeming louder than it should have been, reverberating in Allyr's head,_"Stop it! I can't take it anymore! Just stop it PLEASE!"_ Allyr was brought back to reality sharply, as if someone had grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled. She was back at the court, and she heard Takei shouting. She spun around to see the monstrosity bearing down on her. She screamed and leapt out of the way at it reached out to grab her. She started backing away, trying to get her bearings back. Kalas had shouted and brought her out of her trance, or whatever it was, she was sure of that.

"Hey, Kalas," said, Allyr, keeping an eye on the monster as it turned toward her, "Now would be a good time for you to use one of those Spirit Spells." The monster roared, which was only semi-impressive. The roar was loud enough to be heard a mile away, but the monster's toothless gums were less than frightening. Regardless, Allyr wanted this thing dead _now_. "Anytime now Kalas," said Allyr, backing away even more. When she backed into the mesh fence, she really started to panic, "Don't chicken out on me now Kalas!" shouted Allyr, watching the monster as it advanced on her, "Don't worry, I can take it! Just use the damn thing, NOW!" The monster tensed to jump, body coiling. Allyr was frozen in place, seeming to have forgotten what legs were, and how to use them. Then came the feeling that she had been injected with extra adrenaline, as the power flowed swiftly through her body. Silver-white light surrounded her body, and her right hand glowed bright green.

"I am Time, hear my Voice!" she shouted at the monster. It leapt at her, and only in mid-leap did it realize what was coming. "LINGERING TIME!" completed Allyr. A white pentagram glowed on the ground, bright enough to make the snow look gray, beneath the monster. It slowed and soon stopped in mid-air, looking like it had turned to stone. The air around the monster seemed to grow still, though it was impossible to see. There was just something about it that seemed… still. The white pentagram faded, and Allyr looked up at what looked like a stone stature hanging in the air. It was more detailed than any human artist could make it; everything was in perfect detail, from the minute fold of skin on the fingers to the scales on the tentacles. The muscles were tensed in the middle of a motion, coiled like thick rope beneath the thin, sickly skin. The look on its face was one of mixed surprise and terror. This lasted for about three seconds, before the statue seemed to explode in a flash of bright green light. Flecks of stone flew everywhere, and Allyr had to cover her face to keep the shards from getting in her eyes. When she looked up, the monster was laying on the ground, looking very dead, blood trickling down from the corner of its mouth, and from many other deep wounds on its body.

Allyr knelt down on the pavement and sighed. She felt like she had just runten miles, but was still in one piece. She sat there, panting hard. Now she and her brother were safe.

Wait… her brother…

Allyr had some explaining to do now. She looked up at her brother, whom she had completely forgotten about during her thirty second fight with the monster. Takei was giving her a look that was equal parts shock, horror, and relief. "Allyr," he started, voice holding the same mixed emotions as his face, "What just happened?"

"It's… nothing to… worry about." Panted Allyr.

"But…" started Takei, "You went all glowy and… and then that thing sort of…" He trailed off and was silent. He gazed fixedly at the strange corpse silently bleeding onto the snow-covered concrete.

_"This wasn't Morjidza," _said Kalas dully. This was the first time he had spoken since he had shouted before, and it caught Allyr a little off guard.

"What'd you… say?" asked Allyr, turning to Kalas who was floating over the body of the monster.

"I didn't say anything." Said Takei, looking worried.

"I wasn't talking… to you!" panted Allyr shortly, now in a very bad mood. Turning to Kalas she asked, "What'd you mean… this isn't Morjidza? You were the one… that was all… 'oh, but of course... the evil English substitute… is my murderer'!"

_"It's just a monster he must have summoned,"_ said Kalas, sounding like he was beyond caring, _"It's really rare. Their bodies are really weak, but they have immense spell casting abilities. When they see prey they create an illusion of whatever the prey desires the most. Then it kills its prey while the prey is in a trance it can't escape from. And,"_ he added, _"It can create an illusion around itself so it can look like something, or someone else. It can also create small illusions around places, which is probably why we're not getting the attention the appearance of a monster like this should. Which suits me just fine."_

_Talk about a textbook answer._ Thought Allyr beginning to get some of her breath back, "Kalas are you… all right?" asked Allyr, concerned, "You seem a little…"

_"I'm fine."_ He said dully.

_No, you're not. _Thought Allyr, _This isn't like you. If the illusions were of desires, then it must of been of him, being alive again and with Xelha._ _I can see why that would bother him so much. _Maybe it was because she was bound directly to his soul, but something told her that was not quite it...

"What the hell is going on?" asked Takei, disrupting Allyr's thoughts, "Allyr, why are you asking the air if it's feeling all right?"

"Ignore that," said Allyr, beginning to stand up shakily, "Just pretend it… didn't happen."

"Um… okay," said Takei, submissively, "But can you untie me now?"

"Oh…" said Allyr, looking at her brother, and remembering he was still tied to the basketball net, "I'll get you out of there in a minute." Five minutes of hard sawing later, with the help of the knife the monster dropped, Takei was free.

"Thanks," he muttered, rubbing his arms where the rope had bit in, "But what just happened here?"

"I'll explain on the ride home," said Allyr, "And if mom asks, tell her I found you with some friends and you just forgot the time."

"Um… okay," said Takei, as he allowed himself to be pulled away by his older sister, trying to wrap his brain around what had just happened.

* * *

Ugh... that didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. So, I guess it balances out... 


	9. It Might Have Been

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Understood? It had better be...

* * *

Chapter VIII: It Might Have Been 

_The blue haired man felt someone grab him roughly by the cape collar and drag him up gruffly. He staggered and had to lean against the wall when his balance proved to be faulty, a spike of pain flaring up in his injured left leg. "For the love of the gods," said whomever it was that had come in. He tugged hard at the blue haired man's collar again, and he was forced to follow, lacking the strength or the will to resist. The blue haired man was half-led, half-dragged along a hallway of some sort. Steel pipes ran along the walls and ceiling, and occasionally he would pass someone else in the hallway, each walking with a purpose. He tried to crane his neck to get a better look at the people as they passed by, but his captor would just tug at him hard whenever he tired. Eventually he gave up, why bother to try when he cannot? It took him a minute to realize what the humming sound he was hearing really was. It was a constant, and had almost faded from conscious thought before he identified it. _It's an engine,_ he thought,_ I'm in an airship. But where's the airship? Is it going somewhere?_ He tired to get a better look at his captor, looking for some kind of clue. But at the angle he was being dragged, and his captors determination to get to his destination as fast made it impossible to make out anything clearly. He wore some kind of black uniform, which was all the blue haired man could make out._

_His captor eventually came to a door. His captor opened it with one hand, making sure to keep a tight grip on his prisoner. As soon as the door was open, he threw the blue haired man inside. He fell with a cry of pain on his injured leg. He crumpled up on the floor, momentarily stunned by the burning pain in his leg. He tried to get his bearings as he heard the door behind him close with a slam. He heard a laugh, a sharp laugh that he knew, coming from somewhere in the room that he had been thrown in. It became very clear to the blue haired man then that whoever was in this room with him was not going to be a friend to him…

* * *

_

"…You still follow me Takei?"

"Uh…"

"At all?"

"Um… kinda."

Allyr was driving a very confused Takei home. She tried to explain what had happened to her while she was in a coma (She was careful to omit psycho-Kalas from her story, otherwise things would become very complicated very fast.), what had happened in the park days ago, and what this all had to do with what Takei had just witnessed and experienced. Takei felt that if he had not seen the monster, he would have probably though that Allyr was nuts.

Well, he still thought she might _still_ be nuts; this certainly was not normal behavior to be sure. But not as bad as he might have thought _before_ seeing that monster. Now he figured that either:

A, He was the victim of some really bad, really elaborate joke.

B, This was the result of mass hysteria/hallucinations/general insanity. Or finally

C, This might really have some basis in fact, and there just was no real way to prove that, other than the corpse of the monster thing that had captured him. The big thing that kept him from believing this one hundred percent, was that he could not hear Allyr's Guardian, Kalas or whatever his name was.

"Really, what's the difference between a male spirit and a female spirit?" Takei had asked when he had first heard Allyr refer to her Guardian as 'he'.

"Drop it," said Allyr sternly, eyes on the road, "Right now."

Allyr had said that it was normal to not hear the voice of a Guardian. People who could hear a Guardian's voice were rare, more so in this world, then in the Guardian's world. And even rarer were the people in either world who could bond with a Spirit. So rare in fact, that the only people that Allyr knew of who could bond with a Spirit, were the ones _she_ had been bound to.

"So, in essence," said Takei, when Allyr had finished explaining, "What you're saying is that some crazy guy from another universe wants you dead, because you're attached-"

"Bonded." Corrected Allyr, "There's a difference."

"Okay fine," said Takei, "So because you're _bonded_ to some dead guy from a different universe, some nut job wants you dead?"

"...Something like that yeah," muttered Allyr, turning a corner.

"Then you can't let this guy stay!" said Takei, turning to look right at Allyr, "If he's going to endanger you, and everyone around you he can't stay!"

Takei knew he had said something wrong when Allyr, quickly parked on the side of the road, as soon as she could find someplace half-decent. She turned to look at him, not looking like she was going to ask him if he wanted a cup of coffee. "Listen," she said, looking, and sounding,angry, "Where would Kalas go if I broke my bond with him? He can't go back home, and there's nowhere for him to go here. He's an old friend and I'm not going to condemn him to wandering the earth as a lost soul! _He stays_." She put particular emphasis on these last two words, clearly telling her dear younger brother, to not argue.

"So you're perfectly all right with fighting the monsters this guy sends at you for the rest of your life?" said Takei, "Do you really want to spend your life like that? How long do you think it'll take before one of you messes up and it ends up killing you?"

"Got a better idea?" said Allyr, "If so I'm all ears." She settled down in her seat and looked at her brother expectantly. Takei stayed silent. "Good," said Allyr, "I'm glad that we've come to an agreement."

"But…" started Takei, "Are you sure…?"

"I've _been_ sure for a very long time!" snapped Allyr, "Okay? This isn't the kind of thing _anyone_ in their right mind would take lightly!"

"Well," Takei started, trying to come up with the right words, "It's just… what if…"

Allyr sighed, "Takei, I'm sorry I snapped at you," she said sounding tired, "It's just… I'm not having a very good day. Could you leave this for another day, please?"

"Um... Okay," said Takei submissively, as Allyr got back on the road. Neither of the two occupants of the car said anything for the remainder of the short trip home.

* * *

"MY BABY! YOU'RE ALL RIGHT! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" 

"Mom, let him go! He's turning blue!"

Mrs. Mayers let go of her son who started gasping for breath his face tinted an unhealthy blue. When Allyr and her brother had walked in the front door, their mother had ambushed them, and proceeded to hug Takei very tightly. Perhaps a little tighter than was really absolutely necessary. "I'm just so happy you're home." She said, whipping some stray tears from her eyes.

"Jeeze mom," said Takei, rubbing his chest, "It's not like there was an Amber Alert or something."

"I found him eating pizza with some of his buddies." said Allyr, giving her little brother a firm pat on the back, to make sure he understood that he should not contradict her in any way, shape or form, "He'd just forgotten the time."

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" snapped their mother sharply, directing this at Takei, "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was? Next time you go out with your friends you'd better tell me first young man!"

"Yes _mother_," muttered Takei.

"And you're grounded!" she continued, "For two weeks! And don't you groan at me mister!"

Allyr decided this was a good time to slip away. She left the room, leaving her brother to quarrel with her mother. As soon as she reached her room, she closed the door and dropped her backpack on the floor. She went to her bed and fell on it, face first, feeling the metal springs in the mattress beneath the sheets. _Mondays suck._ She thought glumly. "Hey Kalas," said Allyr, rolling onto her back to look up at the Spirit, realizing something, "Are you all right? You're being really quiet again."

_"Huh?"_ said Kalas, who had not been paying attention.

"Are you all right?" repeated Allyr, beginning to feel a little more worried, "When you're quiet like this, it usually means something's bothering you."

_"Nothing's wrong."_ Said Kalas dully.

"Of course something's wrong," said Allyr, sitting up, "Did that monster show you something? Well, I mean it _obviously_ showed you something, but is that what's bothering you?"

_"No," _said Kalas quickly.

"Yup, that's what bothering you." Said Allyr with absolute certainty, absentmindedly scratching the back of her head, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"

_"Yes."_ Said Kalas.

"What's with the monosyllable answers?" said Allyr, letting her arm fall, "This isn't like you Kalas."

_"So?"_ he retorted.

"I'm worried about you!" said Allyr, "You're acting weird, and I want to find the cause, because there might be something I can do to help. What did you see?" she added, "It was you, being alive and with Xelha again wasn't it?"

_"Yes!"_ said Kalas, a little too fast.

_Huh?_ Thought Allyr, confused, "Are you hiding something from me?" asked Allyr, suspiciously.

_"No!"_ said Kalas quickly, sounding like he was trying to hide something, and trying to hide the fact that he was trying to hide something.

_Wait… I'm confused, _thought Allyr, giving Kalas a look as if she was having difficulty understanding him, which she was, _If what he saw, which was _supposed_ to be his heart's desire, wasn't being alive _and_ with Xelha, then what was it?_ _Even if that _were_ the case, why would he hide it from me? _"Kalas," said Allyr, "What did you see?" The meaning of this question was clear to them both.

_"It's nothing,"_ muttered Kalas, more to himself than to Allyr, as if trying to reassure himself, that it really _was _nothing.

"Kalas," said Allyr cautiously, knowing she was about to tread onto a figurative minefield, "Have you been cheating on Xelha? Is that what's been bothering you?"

_"What? No!"_ said Kalas, sounding disgusted, _"Of course not, damn it!"_

_Well, he's not lying about that,_ Thought Allyr, who _had_ learned how to tell if her Guardian was lying to her or not, _Okay, now I'm stumped._ "Look, I just want to help," said Allyr, "Maybe if you tell me about what that monster showed you, I might be able to think of something I can do to help."

_"I can guarantee you right now, that there's absolutely nothing you can do to help,"_ said Kalas dully, _"Other then to suddenly find a way to bring me back to life and send me home."_

"Damn it Kalas!" said Allyr, loosing her cool, "Just tell me what you saw!"

_"Well, what did _you_ see?"_ said Kalas simply, _"You've got anger management problems. I mean… more than normal for you, _and _you're prying more than is normal. You can usually take a hint, now you can't. That's unusual. What did _you_ see?"_

Allyr stared at Kalas, "That's _not_ the subject of this argument!" she said angrily.

_"Sure it is. It's about what I saw right? So why shouldn't we discuss what you saw?"_ Said Kalas. Allyr got the feeling that if he still had a face, he would be grinning at her.

"No, that's not the point of this!" snapped Allyr

_"Yes it is."_ Said Kalas smugly.

"It's not!"

_"Is."_

"Not!"

_"Is."_

"Fine!" said Allyr, throwing her arms in the air, exasperated, "Want to know what I saw? Fine!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I saw…" she started, trying to find her center, as she seemed to have misplaced it, "My dad."

_"_… _Really?"_ said Kalas, sounding curious, _"Is he dead?"_

Allyr sighed, "No," she said, "He divorced my mom shortly after she became pregnant with Takei. Now he's living off in California somewhere. I only get to see him two or three times a year. Remember when I told you I was in a car accident, and that how I fell into a coma and ended up in your world?"

_"Yeah,"_ said Kalas.

"He was there with me," she said, "He got out of it just fine. But apparently he had some big fight with my mom after the doctors said I had fallen into a coma. I never found out what it was, that's probably for the better." Kalas stayed silent, thinking.

_"I'm sorry I brought it up,"_ he muttered.

"Yeah, yeah," said Allyr, dismissively, she had heard too many people say that when she mentioned her parents were divorced, "I'm a _real_ sob story. Seriously, who do you think I am? Mary Sue?" she said.

_"Um… who's Mary Sue?"_ asked Kalas.

Allyr shrugged, "Good question," she admitted, "But I'm not her, that's all I know."

After a silence, Allyr said suddenly, "Okay… Now you tell me what you saw."

_"Huh?"_ said Kalas, who had been lost in thought.

"I told you want I saw, now you tell me what you saw." Said Allyr, looking up at him expectantly, "Come on, cough it up."

_"No,"_ said Kalas after a pause.

Allyr opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. _Just let him be stubborn,_ she reasoned, _He'll tell me eventually. I think.

* * *

_

That night, Allyr slept, a deep and dreamless sleep, from which, many hours later, she would wake feeling like she wanted nothing more than to suddenly acquire a taste/addiction for coffee. Somewhere far away from where she slept, so far that it cannot be measured, was the island of Wazn. It rose out of the water, like a whale rising proudly from the deep waters of its home. It glittered like a great diamond, and somewhere in that island, in a room deep in the palace, Morjidza was lying on a bed, in sleep's soft embrace…

…_And Morjidza was having nightmares._

_It was the same nightmare every time, it was the same one that never left him, continued to haunt his sleep. It had started recently, but ever since then, every time he closed his eyes, he envisioned it. What was worse, he never had nightmares that ever felt this real. It was always the same: He stood on the edge of a barren cliff, falling of into a pit black as oblivion. The cliff was snow covered, with ice that made the rocks slippery, and dangerous. Morjidza had to watch his step, or risk falling into that endless dark far below. Fifteen feet away from the edge of his cliff was a second cliff, rocky and covered with moss, with a forest in the distance. And beyond the forest were tall buildings of stone and glass that Morjidza did not recognize. Standing by the edge of a cliff, there was someone wearing a dark red cloak. It could have been male or female, the cloak made it impossible to tell, and he or she stood with their back to him. Whoever it was had the hood up, hiding the back of their head. Morjidza could not see this person's hands, for they were both in front of this other person's body, and thus obstructed from Morjidza's view. He stared at this person standing on the other cliff for a long time, until they turned around to face him._

_As the person turned toward him the hood fell back reveling the face of a woman gazing silently at him. She had dark brown hair and eyes, totally unremarkable. Other than this woman's height, (She was almost as tall as Morjidza.) she was the kind of person would could completely vanish while in a sea of people. The thing that made her unusual was her gaze that seemed to fix Morjidza in place. It was accusing, and seemed to hide a quiet anger, as if concealing something dark and burning. In her right hand she held a long steel sword, with a crescent shaped cross hilt. The blade shined in the gloom of the dream, and was stained with blood, reaching almost halfway up the whole length of the blade. The crimson liquid silently dripped from the pointed end into the mossy ground. The woman held her left arm parallel to the ground, so something could perch on it._

_This was definitely what frightened Morjidza the most. It had probably once been a bird, once a raven, with sleek black plumage, with sharp, clawed feet, and a long shiny beak. Now, it was very clearly something unnatural. The bird was most certainly dead, and yet it stood on the woman's arm. Many of its feathers were long since lost, along with chunks of decayed flesh. Bone shone like bleached stones in many places, making this thing seem even more unnatural. Morjidza noticed, that the bird only had one wing; the left wing was missing entirely, as if it never had a left wing. It held its right wing loosely at its side, almost lazily. The bird looked at Morjidza with unnatural eyes for a bird, living or dead, if an undead bird's eyes could be considered 'natural' at all. They were human eyes, the irises bright blue, holding hate that burned deep inside like a wild fire. They almost seemed to glow with an internal fire, a fire like hate, making them clear and striking, even from the distance that Morjidza saw it. Maybe it was that hate, which made that bird defy nature, and live after death._

_Woman and undead bird looked at Morjidza unblinkingly. The woman raised her bloodied sword in front of her, to a guard position, as if preparing to fight Morjidza. "Morjidza!" shouted the bird on the woman's arm. It spoke a human language, but it was neither the cry of a bird, nor the voice of a human. It was a hoarse croak, the only sounds that a decayed throat could easily make, "Morjidza!" it cried again, "You're life is ours!"_

_The woman took a step, and instead of falling into oblivion, came right to Morjidza's cliff, as if she had gotten there without passing through the space between. She was standing a foot from him, sword ready to strike. He backed away from her with a shout of terror. He quickly searched his pockets quickly for a Magnus, anything that could shield him from this woman and her dead companion. "You're life is ours!" shouted the dead bird again, as the woman swung her sword upward with unnatural force and speed, a blow that would cleave him in two…_

Morjidza woke screaming, cold sweat covering every inch of exposed kind, making the cold room seem even colder. He shivered, more from the fear that he did not want to admit existed, then the cold. He swung his legs out of the bed, and stood up. He grabbed his fur cloak, which he had left thrown over a chair in the corner of the room. He quickly put it on, hoping to shake off some of the cold. It was the same nightmare every time, and there just _happened _to be a woman like the one in his dreams living in another world. He would not have bothered with her, if the nightmares had left him alone.

"Damn her!" he shouted at the empty room, "Why can't she just _die _and make things easier!"

Morjidza was in a rage to shake the stars from the sky. Self-control was something he prided himself in, but things were not going the way he wanted them to in this world. So it was just his damn luck that things were screwing up in another world. He had watched the woman from his dreams again through his Looking Glass. Watched her fight and kill the monster he had sent. It had not stopped bothering him for days after. He had seen her kill his Sabre dragon, and now _this_.

He kicked viciously at a nearby table, and it hurt. He swore under his breath, and tried to regain his shattered self-control. _Think,_ he thought to himself, _Think. Brute force has not gotten you this far. Careful planning has. Think of another way._ Clearly the monsters he was sending over were not enough. Maybe three times was a charm, or however that saying went? No, he only had so many sacrifices. Now, he had more than he could count. But if he were wasteful he would be left only with those too valuable to sacrifice for something like this. What should he try? This clearly was not going to leave him alone. He never had insomnia in any form ever before, and it was robbing him of strength and focus, things that he dearly needed now more than ever. However, the nightmare with the woman and her dead companion always returned. Her companion always seemed to fade away when he woke. He never forgot the image of that raven, dead, yet living, gazing at him as if animated only by its hate for him. Though that undead creature always faded, and the woman always seemed the greater threat. She existed, the raven, however, did not.

When he discovered that such a woman, the one from his nightmare, existed, he felt like she was the cause of his nightmares, and sought to kill her. It was like an addiction, it consumes entirely and cannot be shaken off. His nightmares of this woman kept returning, and would not leave him. It _was_ rising to an obsession. He _had_ to kill her.

How?

_An Immortal,_ he thought. But was it worth it? He was not sure he could summon an Immortal from the Great Void, bind it to his will, _then_ send it to another world. And it would take more sacrifices than normal. Summoning an Immortal drained his strength faster than a normal summoning did, and that was something he would need if he were to succeed. But one Immortal had already _promised_ him victory, so should he take the gamble?

_I do not know, _he thought,_ All I know is that I shall find no peace until I see her dead.

* * *

_

He he... nightmares... fun...

And the Mary Sue joke? I'm sorry, I absolutely couldn't resist. I won't do it again.

Anyway, please review... again. (Now, has anyone figured out what's bothering Kalas? Oh dear, just as long as people don't jump to conclusions, everything _should _be okay...)


	10. Secret Left Untold

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos, or anything related to it. If I did, I wouldn't have to wait for BKII now would I? Oh well, I just got to wait just like everyone else...

* * *

Chapter IX: Secret Left Untold 

_The blue haired man looked up at the room he had been thrown in, and the people there with him. He was in the cockpit of the airship. The pilot and the copilot sat in a pair of seats on the far side of the cockpit, looking out the window at the landscape beyond. In front of the pilot and copilot were more levers, buttons, and gages than the blue haired man cared to count. They must have been flying in the middle of a storm, though the airship was flying very smoothly, because it was impossible to see what was outside, it looked like they might be flying in the middle of a blizzard. A dark grey sky and swirling flecks of snow made it hard to see beyond the glass of the cockpit. Standing between the two pilots and the blue haired man, was Morjidza, wearing his black fur cloak, making it impossible for the blue haired man to know if he had a weapon at hand or not. He felt hate burn inside him, like a fire. He wanted to snap Morjidza like a dry twig, kill him if he got the chance…_

"_You want to kill me don't you?" said Morjidza calmly, "I'm not surprised. Though I would have thought our last encounter would have made you a little more cautious."_

"_Shut up!" snapped the blue haired man, venomously, "What have you done with the others?"_

"_Nothing," said Morjidza, sounding like he was telling the honest truth, "They're all someplace safe, very much alive." He smiled at the blue haired man, "They are valuable to me only if they are alive, and I shall make sure they stay that way. I won't let them escape, but I shall not lead them to their deaths… yet. You're the only one I'm going to kill. You're too much of a threat." Morjidza smiled at his prone victim, who was glaring at Morjidza with a look of absolute hate, "There will be no honorable death for Kalas, I can assure you," he said, sounding like he was enjoying every minute of this, "There will be no fight to the death. I shall make sure that you die slowly, cold, alone, and lost in your own misery."_

"_I'm going to-" started the blue haired man, trying to stand up. The sudden motion sent a spike of pain through his injured leg as if he had been sliced again. He fell back with a yell, curling up in pain._

_Morjidza laughed, "What are you going to do?" he asked tauntingly, walking to where the blue haired man lay, curled up in a little ball of agony, "You can barely stand. What can you possibly do to stop me?" He kicked viciously at the blue haired man, who could do little more than try to block out the pain, as he was unarmed, alone, and could not even stand on his own…

* * *

_

That night, as Allyr slept as soundly as a log, and somewhere far away, Morjidza was in the throws of another nightmare, Kalas floated just above the roof of Allyr's home, staring at the distant sky. Allyr lived on the outskirts of the city, so the lights from the city dimmed out many of the stars. This was unsettling to Kalas, as far as he knew, the only place in his world were light pollution was a problem was in Mintaka, the Imperial Capital. There was something disquieting about not being able to see all the stars because humans had so many lights on. Still, there were a few stars still shining in the sky, and there was the moon, a waning gibbous, hanging bright and swollen in the night sky.

Kalas had been floating there, completely immobile, ever since Allyr had fallen asleep. Looking up at the distant sky, completely silent. He had been trying to forget the vision he had, he wanted nothing more than to forget. He had been trying to forget everything ever since he came to this world. Forget about his world. Forget about his home. Forget about his friends. Forget about his wife, Xelha. Forget about…

Kalas looked down at the dark gray tiles of the roof, thinking about forgetting did help at all. He still _wanted_ to forget, he wanted nothing more than to forget, but he could not. In his mind's eye he kept seeing that vision, the one that the illusion monster had shown him, over, and over, and over, and over, and over…

Some part of him _wanted_ to not believe what he saw. Wanted it to just be an illusion, a trick, and nothing more. Some other part, maybe the part of him that had fought against death, had a faint hope that it could be true, that it could still happen, wanted to believe that there was still hope. And yet another part of him, maybe the only bit of him that had become indifferent to the pain, just thought that the vision was just what might have been, and could never be. And still yet another part of him just wanted to let himself fall apart, forget about self-control and just mourn all the things he could never have again. But he could not even do _that_. Spirits could not cry. It was strange, now that he could not cry, it occurred to him just what a power it was. It was like letting a poison out of the soul, and now he was denied even that simple act.

He looked back up at the sky, taking some comfort in the only thing here that was familiar to him: the night sky. He had debated for a long time whether or not to tell Allyr about that he had seen. There was no real reason to hide it from her. Except… there came that part of him that wanted to forget. _It doesn't have anything to do with Allyr_, he though, _So why should I let her in on it?_ _It's just so… personal. Maybe it is just better to forget. I can never go back home, maybe I should just try not to think about it, and everything I'll never be a part of. _He gazed up at the sky, and the stars that suddenly seemed very cold. _It's strange how much this is bothering me,_ thought Kalas, thinking about the vision again, _How long ago did I find out? A month maybe, at the very most, before Wazn was attacked anyway. I've barely known about this thing for a month and already the thought of loosing it is driving me insane._

He looked back down at the tiles of the roof, feeling strangely empty. At least he was not alone here. Allyr was here, and she was probably the only thing that kept him from loosing his mind, the only anchor that kept him from falling apart. He took some comfort in that. Even so, he still felt like he was on a battered raft in the middle of the Ocean, with nothing but endless water from horizon to horizon. Sure, Allyr was on the raft with him, and he was grateful for it, but he would still die of thirst while surrounded by endless water.

He looked back up at the sky, it's swollen moon, and the few stars scattered across the sky like diamonds on black velvet. _Am I being punished?_ Thought Kalas, for the thousandth time since he had died, _Is this happening to me because I'm being punished for the things I did in life?_

He stared at the moon, almost as if expecting an answer to his silent plea. He began to wonder vaguely, if he ever were offered a chance to come back to life, would he take it? He did not know. The illusion monster seemed to have taken his hope when it showed him his heart's desire. Or maybe his hope had died with his body. It was just… hell he could not even _die_ properly, was there _any_ hope at all? Maybe it just did not matter any more.

He was already in Hell.

* * *

"Vivian please, you're going to hurt yourself." Said a tired Allyr. 

"YOU ALMOST GOT YOURSELF KILLED!" shouted Vivian in a panic, waving her arms around, "AGAIN!"

"I know, I know," said Allyr, calmly, trying to calm her friend down, "But it wasn't a big deal. We killed the evil monster, saved the damsel in distress, and went on our way."

"Takei's going to _KILL_ you if he hears you call him that!" Said Vivian looking worried and on the edge of hysteria.

It was the next day and Allyr had been leaving school to be ambushed by Vivian, whom Allyr suspected as having been waiting for her near her car. Vivian had heard on the radio about the strange animal corpse that had been found yesterday in a public basketball court, and wanted to know if it had anything to do with Allyr and Kalas. Allyr quickly summarized what had happened, which resulted in Vivian exploding with worry.

"Vivian, please calm down," said Allyr opening the driver side door to her car, "Here, I'll take you home and we can talk about this on the way." _And then people will stop staring at us thinking Vivi's nuts._ She thought, giving a hard stare to a freshman boy who _had_ been looking at Vivian as if she were nuts. The freshman looked at Allyr nervously, as she glared at him, just _daring _him to make a joke. He took off when Allyr did not stop staring at him. As soon as he took off Allyr's attention returned to her friend.

"No," said Vivian, who had not noticed Allyr glaring at the unfortunate freshman, "You're going to just tell me to not worry about this. I'm going to worry! Some nut job is trying to _**kill**_ you! How can I _not_ worry?"

"Vivian," whispered Allyr so no one else could hear her, "Kalas and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. We'll stay on our toes, but worrying about won't make it any easier. When you worry it's infectious and makes _us _worry. So cheer up, okay?"

"Now you're referring to yourself in the plural," said Vivian, looking like she was going to have a breakdown of some kind, "The world's ending…"

Allyr sighed, "Vivi," she started. She forgot what she was going to say when Allyr noticed that her friend had gone white and was looking at something behind Allyr. "What?" said Allyr. She turned around to see what Vivian was staring at. Behind her was a long stretch of grass the doubled as the soccer field and track course. It was to the left of the school building and at the back of the parking lot. It was not particularly big, but it was still a pretty good sized field. There was no one and nothing there.

Except for a little girl. She stood about thirty feet away from Allyr and Vivian on the field. Her skin, hair, and simple dress were white. Her hair braided and beaded hung around her face. Her eyes that were nothing but black looked at them, their owner's intent hidden. Something about that gaze fixed Allyr in place, as if they made her forget how to move. Some deep instinct inside Allyr screamed at her to get away. _This is no place to be!_ It seemed to shout at her. The little girl, completely calm, turned around and started to walk away, as if bored. Allyr, despite her strong, and probably more intelligent, instincts, ran in off in the direction of the little girl.

"What are you doing Allyr!" shouted Vivian after Allyr. Allyr did not seem to hear her friend. She covered the few feet the separated her from the little girl, but as soon as she was within ten feet of the little girl, she vanished. Allyr slowed from a sprint to a walk. She stopped and looked at where the little girl had vanished. She had just faded away, as if she had just been a hallucination. _It would be just my luck if I'm starting to have hallucinations. _Thought Allyr glumly as she looked at where the little girl had vanished. She walked over to where the girl had been standing and kneeled down to examine the grass, when she noticed something odd about it.

Vivian was standing behind Allyr five seconds later. She was not exactly in shape, and was panting for breath after that short sprint, "What… were you… thinking?" panted Vivian, "Do you… want someone… to kill you?"

"Take a look at this," said Allyr, still looking at the grass.

"It's grass Allyr," said Vivian, "What's so special…" she trailed off when she noticed what was abnormal about it. Where the little girl had stood the grass was brown and decayed, looking very dead. The grass around the patch looked as green and healthy as ever. But there were what appeared to be tracks in the grass, where the grass had died, marking where the little girl had stood.

"What'd you know…" said Allyr to herself, thinking.

"Great!" said Vivian, throwing her arms into the air, "Now you're being stalked by something that can kill grass with a touch. A touch! Just a _touch,_ that's all it takes!"

"You don't know that she's stalking me," Argued Allyr. She sensed Kalas's discomfort, as if he was trying to hide something. She had only vaguely noticed him, like a thought that does not really form in the mind, or a memory that is only half-remembered. "Kalas," she said warningly, "What are you hiding? And don't say nothing!" added Allyr before Kalas could say anything, "When you say it's nothing it's always a big deal." Something clicked in Allyr's brain, "Did you see this girl before Kalas?" she asked.

"_Was it that obvious?"_ said Kalas surprised.

"Yeah," said Allyr looking over her shoulder up at him, "It was pretty easy to guess. Where'd you see her before?"

"_You're not about to give me any breaks are you?"_ said Kalas. Allyr gave him a look that clearly told him to tell her now or she would give him **hell**. _"Fine! I'll tell you!"_ he said giving in, _"I've… I've seen her twice before."_

"Twice!" said Allyr, alarmed, "And you never told me about this?"

"_The first time I thought I was hallucinating,"_ he said shortly, _"I saw her just before I died. I saw her again right before the Sabre dragon attacked us."_

"Wait, you saw her back in your own world?" asked Allyr.

"_Yeah,"_ said Kalas, his tone saying that he thought that this should be obvious, _"I died in Wazn. And _that's_ back home."_

"How_ exactly_ did you die then?" asked Ally. She had wanted to know this for a long time, and regretted asking Kalas to not relieve his death for her before.

"_What does that have to do with this?"_ asked Kalas.

_So much for catching him off-guard._ Thought Allyr, who had been hoping that Kalas would tell her without thinking about it.

"Are you feeling all right?" asked someone to Allyr's right. She and Vivian looked over at one of the teachers who had apparently been walking out to his car when he saw Allyr and Vivian looking at a patch of dead grass and talking to thin air.

"Oh… yeah… uh… we're fine." Said Allyr standing up, "Nothing's up."

"Are you sure?" asked the teacher.

"Yes!" Said Vivian, grabbing Allyr by the arm, "We were just leaving. Right Allyr?"

"Uh… right." Said Allyr as she allowed herself to be led away by Vivian. Before she really processed the thought, she was in the car, Vivian in the passenger seat, driving her energetic friend home.

"Vivi," said Allyr five minutes later after she got her bearings back, looking at Vivian out of the corner of her eye, "You're fidgeting with your hair again, that means you're worried. What's up?"

"Its…" started Vivian, "That girl we saw…"

"It's just a little girl!" said Allyr laughing.

"She vanished right in front of our eyes!" argued Vivian, "And the grass _died_ where she stood. And she's _stalking_ you."

"There's no proof that she's stalking me," said Allyr.

"You're not bothered by this at all are you?" asked Vivian.

"Nope," said Allyr shrugging, "Not really. I mean," she added, "This girl hadn't _done_ anything other than stare at me and Kalas. What's there to worry about?"

"What if she was sent by what's-his-face, this guy that wants you dead?" asked Vivian.

"_Then we're in trouble."_ Said Kalas dully.

"Don't be pessimistic Kalas!" said Allyr, "She hasn't done _anything_ to either of us, other than freak us out a bit. What's she gonna do, seriously? Stare at us?"

"_Since when did _you_ join the optimist club?"_ said Kalas glumly, _"She hasn't done anything _yet._ What if she's just waiting for the right moment?"_

"_Sure_ she is," said Allyr.

"Why are you so happy Allyr?" said Vivian, "You've basically got the threat of death hanging you're your head, and you're doing just fine."

"Well," started Allyr, "There's nothing to seriously worry about. We've been able to take care of everything Morjidza's thrown at us, so why worry? What could be possibly do that could be a _serious_ threat?"

_Oh damn,_ thought Kalas, _Which of the thousand ways is this going to go wrong?

* * *

_

Morjidza's summoning ritual was complete. He was standing in a pentagram, outlined with curly runes, made with fresh human blood. In front of his was a second pentagram similar, though not identical to his own. He was standing in a cold room, made entirely from ice. The furniture had been removed. White wax candles littered the floor, each burning silently as bubbling wax dripped down the side, which miraculously did not melt the ice of the floor. Morjidza wore his fur cloak to keep the cold off, hoping that would allow him to concentrate better. _Maybe I should have picked a place other than Wazn,_ he thought, _Too bad. If only someplace like Anuenue had been vulnerable._ He shook his head to bring his thoughts back to the present. He looked up at the second pentagram and at the woman staring at him from inside it.

She was easily as tall as he was. Her spiky black hair fell down to her waist. Her high-heeled black boots gave her additional height, though she did not need the extra inch to seem imposing. Her pants were made of black leather, and her shirt was a form-fitting dark red V-neck. She had her arms crossed across her chest as if she was waiting for something to happen, her nails a little longer and pointier than would be considered normal. Her eyes were red, the bright red of fresh blood, and the pupils were slits like the eyes of a cat.

"What do you want?" asked the woman, her voice impatient and hard.

"I seek something that only you can give." Said Morjidza, starting the command properly.

The woman snorted, "What is it?" she asked impatiently, "Do you want gold? Then you should have summoned Greed. Do you want beauty of some sort? Then I'm sure Vanity would have _loved _to help you. Do you want a woman to fall in love with you? Then you should have bothered to _get_ Love herself."

"I do not seek gold, beauty or love," said Morjidza, becoming impatient himself, "I want an enemy to fall."

"Typical," said the woman rolling her unnatural eyes, "An assassination. I should have guessed."

"Stop complaining!" snapped Morjidza, "You are bound to _my_ will! You will do my bidding whether you will to or not!"

"Do not think to highly of yourself _mortal,_" said the woman scathingly, "I do not cater to the will of insects because I _want_ to." Her voice became deadly quiet, thought still loud enough to hear, "If you make one, just one, mistake. I swear I shall take every advantage of it."

Morjidza smiled, "I would expect nothing less."

The woman smiled at him, and her incisors were noticeably longer than normal. "Good," she said. "I'm glad that we have been able to straighten this out. Now, who is it you want me to take care of then?"

"Better," said Morjidza, clapping his hands together as if a dog had just preformed an amazing trick, "I think you are finally getting the hang of this."

The woman scowled, "Just tell me who it is, where they are and get this over with."

"She is a woman from another world," started Morjidza, "Find her and kill her."

The woman in the pentagram blinked, "What?" she said, "Not even a name? What can I go on _then_?" she snapped, clearly fuming, "And she's even in another _world._ How the _hell_ do you expect me to find her, if I have nothing to go on?"

"I shall show you," said Morjidza. He reached into his cloak, rifled around for a minute, the pulled out a small mirror. _It's not quite my Looking glass,_ he thought, _But it should work all the same. _He breathed on it, his breath fogging the mirror. He turned it so the woman could look into it. An image swam into view in the mirror. It was of a woman of about nineteen with long brown hair. She was with another woman about her age with long blonde hair. Though there was no sound, it was clear that the blonde was panicking about something. "The one with the brown hair," said Morjidza, tapping the glass with a finger, "That's her."

"She seems plain to me," said the woman in the pentagram, as if looking at something not particularly interesting or stimulating under a microscope, "What's so special about her?"

"She's bound to a Guardian Spirit," said Morjidza flatly, "And a fairly powerful one. They have already slain two of the monsters I have sent after them. With little effort."

"Impatient aren't you?" said the woman in the pentagram, still looking at the mirror, "Two monsters and you give up. Interesting."

"Just _find_ her and _kill_ her!" snapped Morjidza, "Return to me when you have completed this task!"

"You yourself are interesting," started the woman, looking up at Morjidza with blood red eyes, "You could almost pass for human. I imagine you _were_ human at some point." Her eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement, "But you forfeited _that_, didn't you? I'm curious… how?"

"That has nothing to do with this task!" snapped Morjidza. Now came the point where the Immortal would say things he did not want to hear.

The woman laughed, "I'm merely curious," she said, "Humanity is not something merely tossed away like an unwanted Magnus. Though I have heard somewhere down the line… that you are a servant of Malpercio? I wouldn't be surprised if that has something to do with it."

"SILENCE!" shouted Morjidza, "You will hold your tongue and go on with your task!"

"For a servant of Malpercio, you're rather careless," said the woman, drowning out Morjidza, "I'm surprised that you've let this…" she paused, as if trying to think of the right word, "… This _thing_ go unnoticed."

Morjidza stared at the woman, curious. Immortals had a strange way of knowing things that they could not, or should not know. Immortals could not lie, so his skepticism was minimal. She could just be referring to something completely irrelevant or minor however. She could be doing this to waste his time and purposely annoy him. "And what makes you think I'm 'careless' exactly?" he asked, giving her a look that clearly demanded an answer.

"That boy you killed," she started, "The one with the blue hair? Remember him?"

"Spirited little bastard," muttered Morjidza, "Yes, I remember him." When the woman smiled at him, the blood drained from his face, "He didn't-" Morjidza started, his voice failing to conceal his fear.

"He did not survive," said the woman, clearly having fun. When Morjidza visibly relaxed a little, she continued, "He has been forever lost to the Ice. But he left a little something behind, something of which you _should_ have long since known about. Something which just _might_ hamper your ambitions."

"What is it then?" asked Morjidza impatiently, "You are bound to _my_ will, tell me what it is he left behind that seems to carry such a threat?"

She told him, a broad smile on her face, clearly enjoying bringing Morjidza this news.

Morjidza gave her a mildly surprised look. Only mildly. "You would probably want to know," said the woman, who looked like she could do this for many hours, many times, "That this threat is… say… unborn? This is merely something in the making, that _will_ come."

Morjidza relaxed visibly, and then he laughed. A sharp laugh that was almost like the bark of a large dog, "_That_ is supposed to be a threat?" he laughed again, looking as if he had just been told the funniest joke he had ever heard, "_That_ is _hardly_ a danger! I thought he had really had left behind something that could pose a threat to me!"

The woman's smile did not falter, "Sure, it might not be a threat _now,_" she said, completely undaunted by Morjidza's complete lack of concern, "But what about in say… twenty years? Surely you hope to keep your little empire going for more than two decades. I thought you had more ambition then that." She added shrugging.

He laughed again, "That's no guarantee!" he said, "It would not take long to eliminate _that_ threat, if it ever showed any signs of becoming a problem."

"You're afraid," said the woman bluntly, "Just face it, and don't try to hide it, I can even smell your fear. That blue haired boy is dead but you _will_ die by his hand, one way or another."

Morjidza was immediately thrown into a rage to shake mountains, "SILENCE!" he shouted at the woman who seemed to be enjoying the reaction she had goaded out of Morjidza, "GO AND COMPLETE YOUR TASK!"

"Fine, fine," said the woman, sounding almost bored, "It's time to get this over with." Morjidza snapped his fingers, and the woman vanished.

_She's a bitch, that Immortal,_ thought Morjidza bitterly as he stepped out of his pentagram, _But as long as she gets the damn job done, I don't care._ He walked to the door to the room and walked out. He walked out to the balcony that looked down upon the rest of the palace. He was at the top of the Grand Staircase that ran from the ground floor all the way here, to the topmost floor of the Wazn palace. It was like the spine of some giant animal, reaching down seemingly for miles and miles. Morjidza could see people walking to and fro, up and down the Staircase. Some got off to corridors or rooms that lead off the Staircase. It was like a giant machine of humans and ice, constantly at work, and the gears never needed greasing.

Everything he had aspired to was finally becoming his. This island was _his_. Its people were _his_. And soon, everything else would be _his_, and through him his beloved master Malpercio would have his vengeance.

And yet…

Morjidza leaned on the rails of the balcony, silently cursing the cold. What about the Immortal's warning? It seemed so… insignificant. The _big_ threat was dead, and all the other big ones were locked up in cells in the deepest dungeons of the palace. He had nothing to fear. He had already been _promised_ victory, so should he even worry about this… _thing_ that seemed to carry such a weight? What if this thing that Kalas left behind did lead to his fall? Why did it bother him so much to begin with? Even if it did ever present a threat, it would only become so many years from now. If it ever shows signs of becoming a problem, as he had told the Immortal, it would not be hard to eliminate that threat. Still, just the thought of such a thing existing made him feel strangely insecure. Morjidza looked down unblinkingly at the scene below him, as the Immortal's words continued to ring in his ears:

"_He has a daughter."

* * *

_

Three guesses what the 'Secret Left Untold' is.

As I have not the faintest clue how people are going to react to this, I'll go and hide in my bomb shelter again...


	11. Malice

(-Looks at reviews for last chapter-) ...Well at least people are still interested...

Anyway, I'm back! I ran into a writer's block the size of Texas, which is why this chapter took so long. This still feels kinda rushed to me, but by the time you read this, I'll just be happy that I got this bit over with. At least I know _exactly_ what I want to do after this chapter.

Rants aside, Disclaimer: I do not own Baten Kaitos, 'kay? And as Namco hasn't sent any lawyers to my house, either they haven't noticed me or the disclaimers are working. So, on with the chapter.

One last Author's Note: It turns out that it's the Ice _Cliffs_ of Gomeisa not the Ice _Mountains_ as I've called them before. My bad.

* * *

Chapter X: Malice 

_"You're pathetic!" said Morjidza laughing down at this wretched prisoner, "You've been reduced to a weak coward!" he kicked out at his prisoner again, taking some pleasure in the stifled cry that resulted from the blow. "I wonder what everyone will think when they hear that the great Kalas ran for his life, rather than try to save his friends and wife?" Morjidza speculated. Then he smiled to himself, "That even rhymes." He said cheerfully, "Maybe I'll even turn it into a song…"_

_"SHUT UP!" shouted the blue haired man. Finding a reserve of energy he did not know he possessed, he stood up shakily, and threw himself at Morjidza. He countered easily, grabbing the blue haired man by the collar of his cape and slamming him hard against the nearby wall. The blue haired man fought against Morjidza's hold, but lacked the strength to break free._

_"Listen and listen well," whispered Morjidza into his prisoner's ear, "I could kill you right now. I could have even killed you days or even weeks before. But I want you to suffer. I want you to die, slowly, alone, and miserable. I want to make you pay for everything you made my master suffer, after he gave you life."_

_The blue haired man stared in disbelief, eyes wide, "Malpercio?" he said, "Your master is Malpercio?"_

_Morjidza smiled, "What a clever Raven!" he said with mocking cheerfulness, "Did you figure that out all on your own? Well, that'll leave you something to contemplate in Hell."_

_"I'll see you there," said the blue haired man, his voice dripping venom and hate._

_Morjidza turned to look over his shoulder at the pilot, apparently having not heard this, "Stop the airship!" he snapped at the pilot. The pilot immediately obeyed, and the blue haired man was dragged roughly to a door in the side of the cockpit he had not noticed before. Morjidza kicked the door open, and it swung outwards, letting in a gust of freezing air, carrying snowflakes. The blue haired man could barely see anything in the gale, but he guessed at what was going to happen. "These are the Ice Cliffs of Gomeisa," said Morjidza quietly to his prisoner, "The lands your wife ruled so well. Right now, there is a harsh blizzard, forcing all the monsters into their godforsaken dens. There is no civilization for miles and miles, nothing but ice and snow from horizon to horizon. And this is where you will die, all alone, in a frozen wasteland. And when you die you will become nothing more than food for the scavengers. Your only legacy will be a pile of bones, stripped bare, buried beneath snow and ice."_

_Morjidza let got of the blue haired man's collar, but before he could react, Morjidza kicked him in the back, and he fell several feet, screaming, until he landed in a deep snowdrift. By the time he dug himself out, the airship had already vanished into the winds of the blizzard, swallowed up by the storm of ice and snow…

* * *

_

_"You really should listen to Vivian,"_ commented Kalas to Allyr later that night, _"You're too relaxed."_

"And you'd rather have me panicking?" said Allyr, "At least this way I won't die from hypertension."

Allyr had returned home and was sitting at the desk in her room. She knew she should be doing something productive, but she wanted to argue her point.

_"Do you remember what happened the last time you didn't listen to me?"_ asked Kalas.

Allyr muttered something that sounded like a "Yeah I remember. Must you rub it in?"

_"All I'm saying,"_ said Kalas, _"Is that we need to be cautious."_

"Jeeze, it's just a little girl," said Allyr calmly, "What's she going to do?"

_"Is this some kind of nervous reaction?"_ asked Kalas, _"Are you calm because you're actually worried?"_

"Kalas," said Allyr with deliberate slowness, "It's just a little-"

_"No, there's something weird about her,"_ interrupted Kalas, _"She's probably followed me here, and now she's stalking us. And the grass did die where she stood. That's _not_ normal."_

"But she hasn't _done_ anything." Pointed out Allyr.

_"Neither did the Sabre dragon, or the illusion monster,"_ said Kalas, _"Before they started attacking us, or kidnapped your brother."_ When Allyr did not comment, Kalas pressed his advantage, _"Look, I'm your Guardian now,"_ he continued, _"I'm just trying to help. All I'm trying to say is that we need to stay on our toes."_

"Kalas…" started Allyr.

_"Would it really hurt that much for a little extra caution?"_ argued Kalas, _"What is there to loose?"_

Allyr leaned back in her chair and sighed, "Fine!" she said, sounding defeated, "You win! I'll watch my step."

_"There, that didn't hurt much now did it?"_ said Kalas smugly.

"Oh yeah sure, rub it in why don't you?" muttered Allyr.

_"I'm just trying to protect you, damn it!"_ snapped Kalas, eminating frustration, _"Throw me a bone will you?"_

Allyr sighed, "I'm sorry," she said, "I know how you feel, and you're right. It's just…" she paused, trying to find the right words, "…I was just thinking about what Takei said to me after we rescued him." Ally felt Kalas's sudden discomfort, "I'm not thinking about abandoning you," she said, "I want you to know that: I don't care what anyone else says, I'm not going to leave you while you're like this."

_"You make it sound like this is temporary."_ Said Kalas almost wistfully.

"About that," said Allyr, sounding like she was screwing up her courage, "I just wanted to ask… have you ever heard of another _living_ person coming to you world, like Spirits do?"

_"Huh?"_ said Kalas, who had been caught off-guard by the question, _"Um… no, I don't think so. Why?"_

"It's just…" Allyr started, thinking about how she should word her feelings, "Takei's right. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life fighting, and I imagine you don't want to spend your afterlife fighting." When Kalas did not comment, Allyr continued, "Are you sure that there'd be no way for me to go to your world with my physical body?"

_"No way that comes to mind."_ Said Kalas. Then he repeated his question, _"Why? What exactly would you try to do if you could go to my world?"_

"Isn't it obvious?" said Allyr, "I'd try to find a way to bring you back to life. The Great Whale resurrected Xelha, so why couldn't he bring you back?" Kalas stayed silent. He had not really thought that there was any hope he could come back to life, but he had not considered the Great Whale before. Could, or would, the Great Whale bring him back?

_"I'd think so,"_ said Kalas, _"Unless he didn't want to, I can't think of why he wouldn't."_ Allyr sighed, relieved. This meant that there really was some hope. _"There's still the issue that we're in one world, and the Great Whale is in another,"_ said Kalas, deflating Allyr's newfound optimism.

"Well," started Allyr, "I suppose, if we ever find a way, we might as well go ahead with it."

_"_…_ You'd do that?"_ asked Kalas, _"You'd leave your world for me?"_

Allyr was quiet for a full minute before answering him, "Yeah," she said, "I would."

After a silence, Kalas said, _"Thanks. I'm…"_

"…Touched?" said Allyr, filling in the gap as Kalas looked for the right word, "It's nothing. I care about what happens to you. I know exactly how you feel, and I want to help."

* * *

Somewhere, an immeasurable distance away, a small group of beings stood around a large, circular mirror inlaid in the floor. They looked down at the mirror intently, focused on the image swirling in the glassy surface. The group around the mirror could only be called 'beings' loosely. They could have been alive, or they could have been sprits, either once living, or were never alive. They did not seem to have a definite shape. Sometimes they took the form of a colored ball of light. Other times, they might take on the form of an animal or a human. Regardless, the forms always seemed indefinite, constantly shifting and changing, unclear just when they seem to become clear. They were like puzzles, just when the answer seems to be found, something else is discovered, which changes it all. Except, here, there is constant change, and no answer to the eternal puzzle. 

One of the beings sighed, "Things do not seem to be going well for these two," it said. It was a woman's voice, but there was something about it that seemed very inhuman. It was more like what a breeze would sound like, if it had a voice.

"No, it does not," agreed a second. This one had a male voice, but it to, seemed inhuman. It seemed to crackle, like a flame in a way that no human voice could.

"I've never enjoyed just watching events unfold," admitted a third, again, female, and sounding inhuman just as the others did, flowing and strangely sweet, "For all our power, we really are nothing but spectators."

"Alas, that is our curse," said a fourth, another female voice, unnatural, but it was the kind of voice that could bring light to a darkened room, "To live forever, but unable to make a difference in the world. To see the world change around us, and remain forever changeless ourselves. "

"Have faith, sister," said a fifth, male this time. The voice was deep, and conjured images of dark places. But dark places that were safe, where one could hide from danger and feel secure, "These two are strong. A way will be found."

"And yet they must suffer so," said the third.

"It shall always be darkest before the breaking of dawn," said a sixth voice, male yet again, sounding young and old, all at the same time. The voice was strangely rhythmic as well, as if it were running like clockwork, "They have been through bad times, harsh times, and we have seen them triumph. They have faced so much, and have not been broken by it. They have challenged a god, and they emerged victorious. I have little doubt as to their fate."

"You of all of us should know that fate is fickle, following few patterns, if any at all," said the third.

"Bickering amongst ourselves shall do us, nor them any good." Said the fourth.

"And yet once more we have no power to help these two," said the second, "We can only stand and watch, when it is within our power to help them, if we could leave this place."

"There may be no need to intervene, even if the choice was given to us," said the first, "Not all hope is lost. There is still a chance that they will go."

"Aye," said the fifth, "There is hope."

"But, as we have felt and seen," said the fourth, "An assassin has been sent, and one that they shall not be able to contend with."

A silence laden with apprehension fell over the assembled beings. "There is another there," said the third, "And she needs something from them. She might protect them, for a time."

"Yet that presents another issue," said the second, "What to do, if she sees fit to separate them."

"She shall not," said the sixth, "To break a bond as sacred as this is a crime none but the wicked would permit."

"These are all thing to come," said the fourth, "Things that are yet to be, if they become at all. There is little else we can do, but wait."

"And wait we shall." Said the fifth with finality. And so the six beings stared back down at the glittering mirror in silence, watching in silence.

* * *

It was the next day for Allyr. She had gone to school and it had gone relatively normally. She had been walking out to her car, when Vivian ran up to her, looking as if she had been giving a small glimpse of Hell, and its eternal horrors. She looked pale, almost sickly, and she seemed oddly fidgety, even for one who was always active. 

Vivian's state alarmed Allyr, but beforeshe could ask what was wrong, Vivian asked, "Can we go somewhere where we'll be alone?"

_"What's wrong?"_ asked Kalas, pretty sure he would not get an answer.

"We need to leave!" persisted Vivian, "Now!"

"Just calm down," said Allyr soothingly, "Just tell me what's wrong."

Vivian looked at her white sneakers, then at the sky, apparently trying to find something to look at that was not Allyr. "We… need to go somewhere where we won't be overheard." She said.

Allyr was really worried now. She could tell that something was bothering her friend. What was it? Why did she look like she was expecting someone to attack her at any time? "Okay," said Allyr calmly, "Why don't we go-"

"To the park!" interrupted Vivian, "No one's ever there but you!"

Allyr's anxiety was replaced by mild suspicion. Then she discarded it. This was Vivian, what would she do? Maybe she just felt more comfortable going to the park? Why? That does not matter…

"Okay," said Allyr, "If you want to talk about it there, then we'll go."

About fifteen minutes later, Vivian and Allyr were it the park, Vivian leading the way, as if there was someplace she specifically wanted to go. _"Something's wrong,"_ whispered Kalas to Allyr, _"She knows exactly where she's going. This wasn't something she decided to do spontaneously."_

"What do you think I should do?" hissed Allyr at the Spirit, "She's my friend! Maybe this is just…" she trailed off, as she realized what Kalas was implying. "Do you think Vivian is _setting me up_ for something?" snapped Allyr venomously, "Is that what your trying to imply?"

_"No!" _said Kalas, _"Just that something's wrong!"_

"I _knew_ that!" snapped Allyr, "That's why we're here, god damn it! Are you going to say something useful, or just point out the obvious?"

_"Fine!"_ snapped Kalas angrily, _"If you don't want my help, then I won't bother to give it!"_

Allyr continued to follow Vivian, silently seething with anger. _Damn it!_ Thought Allyr, more or less loosing interest in her surrounding, following her friend without paying attention to where they were going, _What right does _Kalas_ have, of _all_ people to, accuse Vivian with trying to set me up for something?_

Unbeknownst to Allyr, who was still fuming, Vivian had come to a dense area of the park, the early winter snow clinging to the branches and covered the ground, making the pair's breath freeze as they exhaled. Allyr regained her focus, as she recognized an old oak nearby. An oak with _Jenny + Eric _engraved in the rough bark.

_"I remember this place…"_ said Kalas, more to himself then to Allyr or Vivian. This was where he had bonded to Allyr, all that time ago. It could not have been more than about two weeks. But it felt like months, years even, since he had left his home…

"Allyr…" said Vivian meekly, looking down at the thick roots of the tree, and not at Allyr. Allyr walked over to her friend, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What's wrong Vivian?" asked Allyr, worried.

Vivian started crying then, looking at the ground, away from Allyr. "Please…" she sobbed, shoulders shaking, "Forgive me."

Allyr looked at her friend, confused. "Forgive wha-"

A hand with a vice-like grip grabbed Allyr's shoulder roughly. "There you are," said a malicious female voice behind Allyr, "And right where I want you." Allyr looked over her shoulder at the owner of the hand, a woman who was several inches taller than she was. Her black spiky hair fell down her back, and her eyes were the color of fresh blood, the pupils were silts like the eyes of a cat. Faster than Allyr's eye could ever hope to catch, the woman punched Allyr in the back of the head, and she fell to the ground, little lights popping in her head.

"You said you wouldn't hurt her!" protested Vivian.

"I made no such promise," snapped the woman, "I said, 'bring your friend to me, or I shall kill you.' I said nothing about what I would do to her. If you get in my way now, I won't kill you, I'll just beat you into a coma you have no hope of ever waking from. Now stay out of this!" Vivian instantly fell silent, but looked at the woman with wide frightened eyes, the way a sheep might eye an oncoming wolf.

"Now," said the woman, looking down to see that Allyr was no longer on the ground. She had gotten up and was standing several feet away, body tense. "What are you going to do to me?" taunted the woman, "Are you going to set your little Guardian on me?" Allyr failed to hide her astonishment that the woman knew about her Guardian. The woman laughed, "Surprised are we?" she said, smiling at Allyr, "I already knew about your Guardian. But do you really think it can hurt me? A human cannot harm me, what makes you think a creature without a body will be a threat to me?"

_What's she going on about?_ Thought Allyr. "Kalas!" shouted Allyr, not taking her eyes off of the woman with the red eyes, "I could use some help right now!"

_"Oh, _now_ you want my help?"_ snapped Kalas venomously.

The woman lunged at Allyr and punched her again, this time in the stomach. Allyr fell to the ground, curling up in pain. "Don't be an idiot Kalas!" said Allyr, getting up on all fours, "Help me! Please!"

"What are you going to do?" laughed the woman, kicking at her victim, "You can barely stand. What can you possibly do to stop me?"

The words stuck a chord in Kalas, as an old memory resurfaced. Of lying defenseless at the feet of someone who wanted to kill him.

_You moron!_ Thought Kalas angrily, disgusted with himself, _It's your damn _job_ to help her!_

Allyr felt a now familiar feeling that she had been injected with a strong dose of adrenaline. She suddenly felt empowered, invincible even. She stood up quickly and sidestepped another kick form the woman, silver-white light surrounding Allyr's body, as her right hand glowed bright red. "I am Fire, hear my Voice! HELLFIRE!" she shouted, just barely aware that the words were leaving her mouth. Instantly fire seemed to sprout like a burning plant from the ground around the woman. She screeched as she was consumed by the inferno. Allyr fell to her knees, exhausted. Her breathing was hard, but she felt strangely calm. _It's over,_ She thought, _It's all over._ As the fire subsided, it left only a circle of burned grass, five feet in diameter.

And a very angry woman standing in the middle of the destruction.

Allyr's heart seemed to stop. _How… is that possible?_ Allyr thought stunned, _She was set on fire…_

"Damn you!" shouted the woman, "I'll make you pay for that!" She took a step towards Allyr, clearly intent on killing Allyr this time. Not just a simple beating this time.

"Stop," said a voice, thought it sounded like the speaker could really care less about the current situation, "They are mine."

The woman turned to see a little girl walking up to her. It was the little girl Allyr had seen the other day. Skin, hair and dress the pure white of fresh snow, and eyes black as oblivion.

"What are _you_ doing here?" snapped the woman, "This had nothing to do with you!"

"They are mine," repeated the girl. It occurred to Allyr, that there was something strange about the girl's voice. There was something about it that did not seem human to her.

"Get out of here!" shouted the woman, her voice becoming shrill, "I _must_ kill them!"

"I need her alive," said the little girl, "It will be better for us both if I am not forced to remove you." The little girl walked close to the woman, who backed away, a look of revulsion, and fear, on her face.

"Leave me!" shrieked the woman. When the girl did not leave, the woman gave a shout of anger, before turning around and fleeing.

_That was… odd._ Thought Allyr, still on all fours, trying to get her breath back, _All the little girl did was walk up to her. But… she had said we were hers, so does that mean…_

"I will do you no harm," said the little girl turning towards Allyr. It was as if she had read Allyr's thoughts, "That woman was bound and sent by someone who wants you dead. I imagine you know who?"

"Um…" said Allyr, trying to fight down the instinct that told her to run away as fast as she could, "Yeah, I have a guess. But… who _was_ she?"

"Her name is Malice," said the little girl, sounding like she lacked the energy to care.

_"Uh,"_ started Kalas, _"Thanks for saving us then…"_

The little girl looked up at him, and gave him a look that would have turned his blood to ice, if he still had any, "I did not _save_ you," she said, a patronizing note in her voice, "I need something from you, and I cannot have it if your partner dies."

_"Um… well…" _Kalas faltered, the words dying before they really ever were.

"What… what's going on?" asked Allyr, sitting up, "Why…"

"…Did your attacker not die?" completed the girl. Allyr wondered if the little girl could read her thoughts, "She is Immortal, as am I. She shall not die by unnatural causes, or by Time's decay."

"Wait," said Allyr, knowing that this was not really the time for questions, but she just had to know, "If your _both_ Immortal, then how come you chased… Malice or whatever her name was away?"

"There are some things," started the girl, "That will still even spite, malice, and hate."

Allyr did not comment on the little girl's enigmatic response. _"Then… who are you?"_ asked Kalas.

"I am Immortal," said the girl.

_"I _know_ that,"_ said Kalas, trying to not let his temper get the better of him, _"If the one who attacked us was Malice, then you are…?"_

The little girl looked at him with cold black eyes for what seemed like an eternity before answering, "I am Death."

* * *

That was spontaneous, no? Anyway, please review, again. Hopefully I'll write the next chapter in under a month. Then everyone will be happy. 


	12. Reaper Of Souls

Something occured to me the other day: Kalas is technically a Child of Malpercio, right? So... does that mean that any kid he has would have Malpercio for a grandfather? Or as some other kind of relative? That's a truly frightening thought. X(

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. ...Yep, not a bit. Not at all. Nope. Not me. At all...

* * *

Chapter XI: Reaper Of Souls 

_The blue haired man made his slow way through the Ice Cliffs, the bitter cold winds of the blizzard biting at his exposed skin like a pack of starving dogs. The snow reached easily up to his knees, and froze his exposed calves. He was beginning to suspect he already had severe frostbite on his legs, as he could barely feel them anymore. He tried wrapping his cape around his shoulders to warm himself up, but the thin fabric did little to shake off the terrible cold. The snow carried by the swift winds bit at his face, forcing him to squint to see anything. His injured leg constantly slowed him down. He had to drag it behind him, like a dead weight, for it would no longer carry his weight at all. He kept hoping that if he kept moving he might find a shelter of some sort, where he could hide, maybe even start a fire. His hope seemed to drain away along with the heat, and maybe some small part of him already accepted the inevitable. It was hopeless… there was nothing he could do…_

I can't think like that!_ He thought to himself desperately_, I'm not going to die here, there's still hope!_ Despite these optimistic thoughts, it took every scarp of will he had to keep moving. Never before in his life did it take so much effort to keep moving. Some part of him just wanted to give up, lie on the ground and let all his troubles simply slip away. He fought this desire with everything he had, and did everything he could to keep moving. The blizzard winds suddenly changed direction, the force almost made him loose his balance. He stood stock still, all his focus on staying upright, trying to withstand the storm. When the winds had subsided a little, he continued on his way. Everything looked the same to him, and he could not see the sun, moon, or stars, so he did not have the faintest clue as to where he was going. He had lost all track of time; he could have been out there for minutes, or days._

_He fell over into the snow when his exhausted and frozen body could not hold him up any longer. He shivered when he fell into the thick snow, now almost completely covering his body. He reached out in front of him with one hand and tried to drag himself foreword, but could not find the strength to go any further. He lay on the ground, breathing hard. He raised his head a little trying to see something other then just swirling white snow, and saw the last thing he was expecting. About ten feet away, stood a little girl, dressed in white. Her skin and hair were white as well. Neither her hair nor the dress was disturbed by the fierce winds of the blizzard. She looked down at him with eyes that were nothing but dark pits. He stared up at this little girl, seemingly undisturbed by the cold. Then he must have blinked, because she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared._

I must be going mad,_ he thought. _No!_ he thought angrily_, I can't give up! I can't die here! I just can't! Xelha and the others need me!_ He tried to drag himself forward again, but could not find the strength to move. His labored breath left him in billows of white mist as he strained to move. But he could not, his numbed, injured and frozen body could go no further. He felt a cold, though this time, it seemed to be deep inside him, in his very bones. He could do nothing more than watch, as the cold devoured him like a great beast, and the whole world slowly faded to black._

_He laid still in the snow, completely unmoving, his eyes closed. His chest remained still, and no white mist left his nose or mouth. He just lay completely still on the ground, as snow slowly buried him, an unmarked grave of white._

_Kalas was dead.

* * *

_

_"__Death?"_ said Kalas incredulously, _"Death? This shrimp is supposed to be Death?"_

"_Kalas_!" hissed Allyr, "Right now, you're the _last_ person who should be calling Death a 'shrimp'!"

_"__Well,"_ said Kalas, looking down at the little girl, _"I've always imagined Death to be a little… you know… taller. That's all."_

"I don't need height," said the little girl, Death, "When I can take a life with as little effort as you would to crush a bug beneath your heel."

This comment shut Kalas up very fast. "Well… um… Death," said Allyr nervously, looking at the little girl, "What exactly do you want from us?"

The little girl looked up at Kalas, "I want him," she said, very calmly. If Kalas could have stiffened, he would have, "He evaded me once before. His brother gave him life, so he would not die. Now, he is but a lost soul doomed to wander the earth for the rest of forever. I have come to take him with me, to where all the dead go."

"Are… are you going to separate us, and then take him?" said Allyr nervously, suddenly very aware that if Death wanted to take Kalas, she probably could. Death was not something they could burn or blow to bits.

Death shook her head, beaded braids swinging slightly, "No," she said, the child's unnatural voice unnerving Allyr and her Guardian, "Your bond is something sacred, and I will not break it. However," she added, "Though I will not get in your way, I shall not help you either."

"Um… and why would we want your help?" asked Allyr. True, Death might be a good ally, but there was something about the little girl that made her instincts scream at her to run away as fast as she could. Staring Death in the face was not something done lightly.

Death looked up at Kalas, and she seemed to looking right into him. She seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, and what it was he really wanted to do. She seemed to looking into the deepest part of his being, and see everything in there, plain as day. He suddenly felt very exposed under her gaze. "I can take you back to your world, Spirit," said Death, "You, and your partner."

_"__You… you can?"_ said Kalas, stunned, _"Um… will you?"_

"Yes," said Death, "I will. On one condition."

_"__What is it?"_ asked Kalas, sounding as if he had already decided to agree to any offer Death made him.

"I cannot interfere with the affairs of mortals," Death began, "Unless it allows me to complete my task in the great machine of the universe." She seemed to look into Kalas again. It took every scrap of focus and willpower for him to keep looking her in the eye, "I know what it is you want and seek. You cannot have it, for it is in another world. I need to take you on, but I cannot forcibly separate you from your partner. My offer is this: I will open a gate for you, and your partner to enter your world. There, you may find, do and see what it is you need. When you have done, seen, and found all that you need, I will come to you. Then you will separate yourself from your partner, and come with me without struggle or complaint."

_"__Deal."_ Said Kalas without hesitation.

"WAIT!" shouted Allyr, afraid that if she did not shout, she would go unnoticed. "Um…" she said, suddenly aware that Kalas, and Death, were looking straight at her. Admittedly, this had been her goal, but she suddenly felt as if the whole world was looking at her, rather than just a freaky, Immortal girl and a disembodied Spirit. "Uh… Death," she started, "Can you give me a minute to talk to my… partner?"

"By all means," she said, nodding.

Allyr rounded on Kalas then. She looked angry, but seemed to be doing a reasonable job keeping her temper under control, "Kalas," she said, talking slowly, as if talking to fast would set her off, "Do you remember that talk we had? Back when I was your Guardian?"

_"__Which one?"_ asked Kalas, "_We had a bunch of 'talks'."_

Allyr sighed heavily, "The one right after the Imperial Fortress."

_"__We had a bunch of those to."_

"The one about selling your soul, and not doing it?"

_"__Ah…"_ said Kalas, vividly remembering, and his tone suggested that it was not exactly a pleasant memory, _"That one."_

"So…" added Allyr, as if talking to a slow child, "That means you shouldn't be…"

_"__Selling my soul,"_ completed Kalas, _"But I didn't think you wanted me to offer _your_ soul."_

"Damn it Kalas, that's not the point!" snapped Allyr, "Don't you think it's stupid to be offering your soul to Death? At all? I mean, I know you miss Xelha and everything, but is it really worth your soul?"

Kalas glared at her, though the only way Allyr could tell was by his feelings of frustration and anger, _"What do you know about it?" _he snapped, _"So what if I'm willing to offer my soul to see Xelha and the others again?"_

"You do remember where this kind of thing led last time," said Allyr, "Offering everything to someone you barely know, right?"

_"__Vividly,"_ growled Kalas, almost to himself.

"So," said Allyr, "There's no reason for you to do it."

_"__There's _every_ reason!"_ retorted Kalas, _"I'm already dead so what's the point of trying to evade Death herself? Besides, if I can at least go back and see if Xelha's okay, and that nothing's wrong…" _he trailed off, and was silent for a minute. _"Anyway," _he continued, _"As long as I can do that, and finally get back at Morjidza, then I can finally go on truly happy."_

Allyr stared up at Kalas, a worried look on her face. "Kalas," she said, "Are you… all right?"

_"__Relatively,"_ he said, _"Why?"_

"You're… acting funny," said Allyr, "I've never heard you talk like that before."

She felt him give the equivalent of a shrug, _"Being dead does that."_ He said simply.

"No," said Allyr, a little harder than she really meant to, but felt no qualms about snapping at Kalas, "You've been acting weird ever since we fought Morjidza's illusion monster. No scratch that, you've been acting weird ever since I boned with you. You've seemed lost in thought a lot, even before we fought that monster, more than normal. For the longest time after the fight with the illusion monster, you wouldn't say any more than four consecutive words to me at a time. And you were completely silent unless I said anything to start with. Even after that you've seemed really distracted and a little blasé about your own problems and safely." She gave him an accusing stare, "You're hiding something really important from me, and it's been bothering you. And it has something to do with what that monster showed you. What was it? And don't you _dare_ try to tell me it's nothing! It's _not_ 'nothing'! If it's driving you to do this then it's got to be something really important!"

_"__Um…"_ said Kalas, not sure if he should tell Allyr or not. He and Xelha were the only ones that knew about it, and it was kind of personal. He was not entirely sure why he wanted to hide it from Allyr; there was not any real reason to. Maybe because it was one of the dearest things his death had taken from him, and he did not want to think about the pain. Everything he would miss… everything he would never see… never do… never feel…

When that monster waved it arm in front of Allyr, Kalas felt her enter a trance of sorts. Then all the colors seemed to blur and run together, like watercolors. Kalas looked on alarmed wondering what the hell was going on. What was wrong? Then colors mixed and shifted, disorienting Kalas, making it impossible for him to tell which way was up. Just a fast as it had started, the colors realigned themselves, and Kalas found himself somewhere very different. He looked around the room he was in, shocked and amazed at what he was seeing. This was most definitely Wazn, likely inside the palace. The walls, ceiling and floor were made of the characteristic blue ice of Wazn. He was in a bedroom, a four-poster for two to his left, and beyond were a pair of double doors. Right across from him, was an arrangement of furniture, also made from ice. A two tables and a bureau lined the far wall. Between the Spirit and the far wall were a round table and a couple chairs. To his right was a railed balcony, overlooking the city if Cursa, the capital of Wazn. He stared at the person leaning on the rails with disbelief.

It was him, or at least, someone or something that looked like him… when he was alive. The vision-Kalas leaned his elbows on the rails, looking out onto the city, blue hair ruffled a little by a slight breeze. He stood with his right ankle crossed behind his left. He was wearing what Kalas normally wore, whatever the occasion, dark leather cuirass, cape, and all. The vision-Kalas's back was to the watching Spirit, so the Spirit-Kalas could not see his face. The Spirit looked around nervously. _What is this? _He thought, looking around, trying to make sense of it. _What does this mean?_ He tried reaching out for Allyr, but could not find her. He could still feel her, but could not reach her. It was like the effect hyper-toxic sound waves had on him before when he had fought Giacomo at the Celestial Alps; he could feel Allyr, but could neither reach nor hear her.

The Spirit-Kalas looked around when the doors to the room opened. The vision-Kalas turned around also. The Spirit noticed that he in the vision looked a little older. Not significantly, maybe somewhere in his mid twenties, but older all the same. The Spirit was so intent on the vision-Kalas, that he did not see who had come in. When he finally did, he felt very numb and his world seemed to shrink down to the one who had just run into the room. A little girl had run in, smiling at the Kalas in the vision. She wore a dark blue dress, reaching down to just above her ankles, as she ran barefoot on the icy floor. She had pale gold eyes that reminded the Spirit vividly of Xelha. The little girl's long blue hair flew wildly behind her as she ran over to the vision-Kalas. As if some force had heard Kalas's thoughts, Xelha immediately walked in after the little girl. She too looked older, again may be early to mid twenties. She smiled at Kalas, and he at her. The little girl had already reached the vision-Kalas and had adhered to his leg. He smiled and kneeled down at her and arms speared wide. The little girl practically jumped into his arms, wrapping her own around his neck. The vision-Kalas stood up and spun the little girl around, laughing. The Spirit could hear the little girl giggling as she was spun around. When the Kalas in the vision stopped spinning, he and the little girl started talking. The Spirit could not hear them; it was as if an invisible barrier had been placed between him and the other people, filtering out all sounds except for their laughter. Xelha walked up to them then, and hugged the pair. The three looked like they cared little for the outside world. As long as it continued to turn, nothing else mattered.

The Spirit stared at them, the vision-Kalas, Xelha, and the little girl, feeling numb and strangely unreal. _What is this?_ He thought, _Is this what will be, what might have been, or just some trick?_ The Kalas in the vision laughed at something the little girl said, and hugged her tighter. She rested her head on his shoulder, and said something the Spirit could not hear. Kalas was good enough a lip reader to know what she said, and it was easy enough to guess:

_"__I love you daddy."_

_"__STOP IT!"_ shouted the Spirit, looking away_, "Stop it! I can't take it anymore! Just stop it PLEASE!"_ It was lucky for Kalas that his shouts did in fact break the spell, and he and Allyr snapped out of their trances. Lucky again, that it saved Allyr's life. For days after, that vision continued to haunt him. Could that still happen, could he live again? Or was it just what might have been, if he had not died? Or was it just a trick, an illusion, and nothing more?

"…Kalas?" said Allyr, "Are you okay?"

_"__I… I'm fine."_ Said Kalas, sounding a little shaken.

"What's bothering you?" asked Allyr, though not unkindly.

_"__It's…"_ he started, apparently groping for words, _"I…"_ he muttered something that Allyr could not hear.

"What?" asked Allyr, genuinely confused. Death simply smiled, looking like she was enjoying watching Allyr try to pry the truth from Kalas. Kalas mumbled something again, and tried to find something to look at that was not Allyr, or Death. "Please tell me Kalas," said Allyr gently, "I won't think any less of you for it, if that's what your thinking. I promise."

_"__I…"_ started Kalas, _"Xelha and I… we… uh…"_ Allyr looked at him, looking like she was willing to wait as long as she needed to. After a pause, Kalas blurted, _"I have a child!"_

There was a very, very long, very awkward silence. Kalas looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"Wait, wait, wait," said Allyr looking at Kalas, "You've got a kid? How's that possible? You've only been married to Xelha two months, right?"

_"__Um…"_ started Kalas, unsure of where to start, _"Well, yes," _he mumbled,_ "The day before Morjidza was found, Xelha came to me and told me she was pregnant. This wasn't anything we planned or thought about, so, it a surprise for Xelha and me. We talked about it and decided, might as well go ahead with it, there was nothing either of us can do about it anyway."_ There was a silence, _"And that's what the illusion monster showed me,"_ he added, _"It showed me with my daughter."_

Allyr opened her mouth to say, "Wow, that was fast." Before shutting it again, realizing that this was the wrong thing to say. Another long, awkward silence followed.

"Well?" said Death, finally breaking the silence, "Will you stay, or go?"

"We'll go" said Allyr, turning to look at Death. _Not like I have the heart to make Kalas stay after this revelation._ Thought Allyr, deciding she did not want to voice this aloud.

"…Wait," said a voice meekly.

Allyr turned to see Vivian, who was still sitting at the base of the oak tree. Allyr had to stare at Vivian for a few seconds before remembering how and why she was there. Silently chastising herself for forgetting Vivan, Allyr ran to Vivian and knelt down by her friend, "Are you okay!" she asked, sounding panicked, "Did… did Malice do anything to you? I know she threatened you…"

"I'm… I'm fine." Said Vivian, "Are you?"

"Oh yeah," said Allyr dismissively, "Nothing's wrong. It's you I'm worried about."

"Are you really going?" asked Vivian, "What about Takei and your mom? It's not like you can just leave them."

Allyr hesitated. What about her family? "I'm coming back," she said, "So it's not like I'm dying. But could you do me a big favor?" added Allyr, making a quick decision.

"Sure," said Vivian.

"Could you tell them everything?And I really do mean _everything._ I don't care of they believe it or not. Just tell them, and tell them I'll be coming back. Can you do that?"

"Yes," said Vivian.

Allyr smiled and stood up, and with out another word, walked back over to Death. Death was smiling as if at some private joke. "What's making you so happy?" asked Allyr shortly, unnerved by the smile.

"So you will go?" asked Death, avoiding the question, "You must leave now, or you shall stay here forever."

"Then what are we waiting for?" said Allyr, more to steady her own nerves then to anyone in particular, "How are you going to do this?" Death closed her unnatural eyes, and stood completely still. "Are you listening?" asked Allyr annoyed, "If you're just going to ignore me-"

Allyr jumped with a surprised yelp as she heard something like fabric being torn behind her. It was loud and the sound was very close by. She turned around and saw what looked like a vertical rip in the universe. Suddenly there was an impossible black space where once there was something. _"What's this?"_ asked Kalas, staring in awe, feeling unnerved by the black gap.

"It is a gate," said Death, opening her eyes, "Just step into it, and you shall find yourself in another world."

_"_..._My world?"_ asked Kalas, making sure that he and Allyr were not going to end up in oblivion rather than their intended destination. He trusted Death as much as he would a known serial killer.

"Yes," said Death, "It shall return you to your world."

Allyr took a deep breath, "Well," she started, "Ready Kalas?"

_"__Yes,"_ he said simply.

Allyr looked at the great gap in the universe again, and just suppressed a shudder before stepping into the gate. As soon as she was gone the gate shrank and vanished. Leaving no trace of its existence, or Allyr's. For all that anyone could have been able to tell, they had never been.

* * *

It was inevitable. There was no way I could finish this fic without bringing the pair back to Kalas's world. So, please review, once again. 


	13. Over The Rolling Sea

Disclaimer: I do not own Baten Kaitos or anything associated with it. (I'm running out of things to say up here...)

* * *

Chapter XII: Over The Rolling Sea 

_Death is believed to be the ultimate peace, the greatest release from responsibility and all earthly ties. But Kalas found neither peace, nor release. When he became aware of his existence again, the first thing he realized, as if some deep instinct had been put in place to tell him, that he was dead. The second thing he became aware of, that he had no body. He felt nothing, other than the strange feeling of existing. Lastly, he was not in heaven, or even hell. He was floating several feet off the ground, still in the Ice Cliffs. The blizzard winds had subsided, and the various inhabitants of the cliffs began to leave their various shelters, searching for food._

_Kalas looked around, a numb despair filling him. _What… what happened?_ He thought stunned. He looked down at the ground, and it was as if he had been physically struck. He saw his body, almost completely buried in the snow. He looked away, feeling disgusted, and deepy disturbed vy the sight. He looked around at the frozen landscape, almost unbroken white as far as he could see. _What now?_ He thought, _Isn't something supposed to happen? Aren't I supposed to go somewhere?_ He looked down at himself, and found that he was now comprised of a ring of glowing blue feathers. He noted this feeling numb. _What's this mean?_ He thought. He tried to twist around, to see something other than glowing blue feathers, but all he accomplished was floating around in circles. He looked around the landscape once more. The sky was cloudy, as it always in the Ice Cliffs, so he could not tell what time of day it is. The landscape looked all the same to him, broken only occasionally by a rocky outcrop of stone covered in a layer of blue frost. He did not know where he was in the Ice Cliffs. _Well, getting lost won't make much of a difference now,_ he thought glumly. He was about to head off in a random direction, hoping to eventually find Cursa, when he felt a strange compulsion to go in a different direction. It was not conscious, it was as if someone else was inside his mind, and trying to tell him to go somewhere else, or maybe this was just some weird instinct showing him the way back home. Curious, he obeyed the compulsion, maybe it would lead him back to his friends and he could find out if they were still alive…

* * *

_

Nekton, The Shrine of Spirits, where Spirits from another world were said to gather. Mira had always been an oddity, but this place had secrets that it would never forfeit, making it an enigma even to those who lived on this continent. It was a forest, but the trees were stripped bare of leaves. They were like wooden skeletons, with glowing red orbs floating among the branches, as if trying to replace the leaves the trees should have. During the day, the forest was always caught in twilight, and at night, the only light came from the orbs floating among the trees, mimicking the twiling of the daytime perfectly. The forest floor was tightly packed dirt, tinted a strange violet. In places, there would be little lights embedded in the ground, as if pieces of a fragmented star had been scatted over the forest. Strange monsters flitted behind the strong trunks of the trees, appearing only for the briefest moment. In the middle of the large clearing in the heart of the forest, there was utter silence. The animals and monsters flitted around and the trees that stood like skeletal sentinels in the forest's perpetual twilight.

Then a sound like cloth being torn filled the clearing as a great hole filled the sky. Then Allyr fell from it, screaming. Only the tree branches broke her fall as she crashed through them. She landed on the forest floor heavily with a loud "OW!"

_"__Are you all right?"_ asked Kalas, alarmed. If Allyr was injured now then it was unlikely that they would get to Wazn at all, much less save anyone.

Allyr swore, "I… I don't think anything's broken…" said Allyr. She tried to stand up, but fell back to the ground with another curse. "Just… give me a minute." What followed was what Kalas thought was the longest minute of his life or afterlife. As soon as Allyr stood up, shakily, he finally began to relax. Allyr looked back up at the sky, at where the hole had been. The sky was whole again, and there was no trace left of the gate that carried her here. "I think that little girl's _trying_ to kill us." She muttered angrily, rubbing her sore back.

_"__Trying to kill _you_."_ Corrected Kalas.

"Yeah, yeah," said Allyr, temper near the surface because of the pain, "Get all technical about it why don't you?" She looked around the clearing, memories coming back to her. _It's strange,_ she thought, _So much has happened because I ended up in a car accident. I wouldn't be here right now if it had never happened. So much wouldn't have happened. I suppose it's all for the best._ A silence filled the clearing.

_"_… _We should probably head for Wazn,"_ said Kalas, trying to fill the silence.

"Yeah, but how?" asked Allyr, experimentally flexing the leg she had fallen on, "I'm broke, so I can't hire an airship. And judging from what you've told me, it seems unlikely that there'll be any flights to an island that's been taken over anyway. Duke Calbren!" Allyr suddenly shouted, looking slightly more cheerful, "Duke Calbren knows me! Maybe we can convince him to lend us an airship? Or I suppose just a boat would work, since there's the Ocean now, and Wazn's right in the middle of it…"

_"__Duke Calbren won't be there,"_ said Kalas, _"He was there when Wazn was attacked."_

"Melodia will probably be there," said Allyr, though she felt like she was now grabbing at straws, "Being the heir and all." Then she added, "Unless she was there with Duke Calbren?"

_"__No,"_ said Kalas, _"She wasn't there. I don't remember her being there anyway."_

"Well, that's good," said Allyr cheerfully, "Melodia knows me too. If she's there, then it's more or less smooth sailing until we get to Wazn. Right?"

_"__But she's never seen you with a body,"_ pointed out Kalas, _"To her, you've just been a disembodied voice that happened to follow me around. She may not believe you if you told them that you were my Guardian."_

"…That does present an issue," muttered Allyr, "I don't know… Are you willing to vouch for me if she doesn't? I know what I'm asking, but there's no other way to get to Wazn. So, please?"

Kalas was silent, thinking. Did anyone here know he was dead? Hell, he did not know what happened to the others who were with him when Wazn was attacked, and he had _been_ there. How _would_ they know? Did he really _want_ them to know? _"Yes," _said Kalas finally, _"If they don't believe you then I'll speak up for you."_

Allyr sighed, "Thanks so much," she said, "That makes one part of this a little bit easier." She looked around the unearthly forest, "Well, let's head out," she said, "I'd like to get moving, even though this place brings back memories."

* * *

Mira is known for being the embodiment of the enigmatic, the unusual, and the downright strange. There was Parnasse, the Confectionary Village, which as the name implied, was made entirely from pastries and candy. There were the Mystical Gardens, where someone could be walking on the ground, or on the ceiling. It was impossible to tell because it all looked the same, no matter if you were up or down. There was The Picture Book Village, which looked like it had been cut out of a brightly colored picture book, and dropped onto the world. The strange clockwork inhabitants of the village did nothing to make the village seem any more normal. There was Nekton, the Shrine of Spirits, where spirits from another world were said to come, by chance or design, none knew. Then there was Balancoire, probably the most normal of all places on Mira. Though right now, however, it was covered in thick fog that made it famous. The fog would thicken and thin as if it was a sentient being, with motives that no one could understand. Now it was as if some thick, wooly blanket of vapor had been dropped on the city. 

Allyr thought this was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, no one was out to stare at her, ask her who she was, or why she was there. On the other hand, she could not see anything more than two feet in front of her the fog was so dense. Kalas knew his way through the city very well, and helped guide Allyr through the city. Though as he had not been to Mira in a very long time, he did make some mistakes.

"Ow!"

_"__Oh… sorry. I forgot about that."_

"Forgot? You _forgot_? You _forgo_t about this wall that just _happens_ to be sticking out here?"

_"__It's not that easy to miss is it?"_

"Well, there is the _fog_! And it happens to be thick, and everywhere!"

_"__It's not as if the fog is _that_ dense."_

Allyr was leaning on the offending wall, separating the cobbled road from the river than ran through the town. Allyr was rubbing her foot where it had made solid contact with the corner of said wall. "How far to the manor now?" she asked, trying not to think about the throbbing pain in her foot.

_"__I think_..._ it's just over there, beyond that building."_ Said Kalas, _"The diner, over to your right."_

"Oh, that one," said Allyr straightening up. She could see an indistinct shape in the fog, but nothing else. There was however, only one diner in Balancoire that Allyr knew of. She smiled inwardly, "Trill's parents own that one, right?"

_"__Yeah,"_ said Kalas, _"Why do you ask?"_

Allyr shrugged, "Nothing," she said, "I was just curious as to whether or not Trill knows you're taken."

_"__I wouldn't put it _that_ way,"_ muttered Kalas.

"I was just trying to cheer you up." Said Allyr, "So which was is it again? Stupid fog…"

A couple minutes later, Allyr was standing at the entrance to the manor, arguing with the two guards station outside. They were both wearing that Allyr remembered as the standard gear for a Miran city guard: Bronze helmet, boots, and chain mail shirt. A green tunic covered the chain mail, proudly bearing what Allyr vaguely remembered as the crest of Mira. They each carried a large spear with a steel head. The guards looked ready to use the weapons if they had to, something Allyr was not interested in provoking the guards into doing.

"What? Why can't I go in?" Allyr asked, eyeing the spears.

"Are you daft?" asked the first guard, scowling down at Allyr, "Can't you see the fog?"

"Yes I saw it!" said Allyr impatiently as a little voice in her mind tried to remind her that she should not be shouting at a man with a spear in his hand, "I can barely see anything _but_ fog! Why does that keep me from going into the manor?"

"Because," said the second guard, the younger of the two, "It's not open to the public right now."

"I need to see whoever's in charge!" said Allyr. It sounded horrible as she said it, and she groaned inwardly. At least it was better then 'take me to your leader'. That would have been truly terrible.

"Lady Melodia" said the first guard, "Cannot see you right now. She's busy."

"Oh, that's good," said Allyr, cheering up a little, "So Melodia _is _here. That's _very _good, she knows me. Why don't one of you go in, and tell her that Allyr needs to speak to her." She paused, "And if she says she doesn't know the name, tell her I'm a friend of Kalas's. Okay? Um... please?"

Guard number one gave her a disbelieving look, "All right," he said gruffly, "I shall ask milady if she knows you. If she doesn't wish to see you, then you _will_ leave." He gave Allyr one last look before turning on his heel and walked into the manor, pushing past the great double doors, leaving Allyr alone with her silent Guardian, and guard number two. Allyr looked around, feeling uncomfortable in the silence, and in the presence of number two with his pointy stick. After what felt like hours, guard number one opened the door and gave Allyr a resentful look, "Milady wants to see you," he said abruptly, "Come inside." Allyr walked in, giving the guards a smug look that she knew she would have gotten in trouble for in any other situation. Maybe that was why it felt so good now.

The entrance hall of the manor was large to say the least. As the entered there was a window and a completely dust-free black grand piano to her left. To her right there was a door she knew lead to a museum. In front of her was a balcony, with polished wood rails. There was a staircase, lined with similar rails reaching down from the balcony to the floor Allyr was on now. "Wait here," said number one, "Lady Melodia will be here shortly." Then he walked up the stairs and vanished from Allyr's sight. She was left alone with number two, who looked like he did not want to be stuck looking after Allyr. She walked casually over to the piano, as if going to examine it. She covered her mouth with a hand, as if thinking.

"Kalas can you hear me?" whispered Allyr, hoping that the hand and the whispering would make it harder for number two to notice that she was talking.

_"__Loud and clear,"_ said Kalas, who had no such problems with talking at normal volume. He doubted that number two would be able to hear him,_ "What is it?"_

"I was just wondering," whispered Allyr, giving number two a quick look, "When we go to talk to Melodia, and ask her for transport to Wazn, do you want me to tell her about…" Allyr shrugged, "About this? You know… about…"

_"__That I'm dead?"_ he said bluntly, almost as if he did not care about it anymore. He was quiet, thinking about it for a minute, _"…No,"_ he said finally, _"Just for now… Don't tell her."_

Allyr sighed, "All right," she said, "If you don't want me to, then I won't tell her."

_"__Thanks," _said Kalas, _"It means a lot to me."_

"No problem." Said Allyr.

* * *

"Lady Melodia," said the guard entering Melodia's small circular room, "Excuse my intrusion, but there is someone here who wishes to speak with you." 

Melodia, who had been looking out the window at the distant sky turned around to face the guard, "Who is it?" she asked.

The guard grunted, "Some woman calling herself Allyr," he said, "She says she's a friend of Kalas's. She doesn't look like she's from around here, or anyplace I'm familiar with for that matter." After a pause, the guard added, "Should I remover her?"

Melodia looked back out the window, thinking, "I'll see her," she said simply, "I imagine you're making her wait outside. You can bring her in, and tell her I will be with her shortly."

"Yes milady," said the guard bowing, before walking out. As soon as he had closed the wooden door Melodia continued to look out the window. She remembered Kalas's Guardian Spirit, was this really her? She shrugged, maybe it was, and maybe it was not. If it really was Allyr, what was she doing here? How did she get here? It sounded like she had a body now, how did that happen? If this was Allyr, did she know about the Wazn siege? Melodia doubted it. That probably would not help. No one knew what had happened to the rulers and the others who had gone to Wazn, what had happened to them after it was attacked. Where they dead? Or where they facing some torture worse than death? What was this… Morjidza planning? What was his motive? Where did he get the power? How? Why? If, somehow, this did turn out to be Allyr, should she tell her that it was very likely that Kalas may not have survived? He, and all the others who were there when Wazn was attacked? What should she do? What could she say?

Melodia tore her eyes from the window and walked out of her room. So many questions, and few answers. First things first, she had to make sure this really was Allyr, and not someone else posing at the Guardian. If this were someone else, then she would not have to explain anything to this person. Melodia walked out of her room, her footsteps echoing slightly in the hall. She went to the balcony railing and looked down. She saw a woman with long brown hair, apparently examining the grand piano. The guard had been right about this newcomer, she did look foreign. Her pants were made of some blue fabric that Melodia could not identify. Her shirt had red sleeves and a blue body, a design she had not seen before on any of the continents. When the woman turned around, and saw Melodia, her brown eyes lit up. "Melodia!" she shouted clearly very happy to see Melodia, "It's so good to see you again!"

_Again?_ Thought Melodia. _This might really be Allyr._

"You," snapped one of the guards, "Shall address the Duchess as 'Lady Melodia'!"

"Melodia, I need to talk to you!' continued the woman, "Now." When she glanced back at the guards she added, "Preferably alone."

"These are bad times," said Melodia, "How do I know you really are Allyr, and not someone else posing as her? She never had a body."

The newcomer shifted uncomfortably, "Um…" she started, "That's a really long story… Uh… what would I have to do to prove I'm Allyr?"

Melodia was silent. The newcomer gave the guards a wary look, and then she shouted, "Melodia! Let's go home, together!"

Silence filled the room. The newcomer swore under her breath, "Stupid!" she muttered, "Of all the things to pick… it had to be _that_ one… stupid…"

Melodia looked down at the newcomer, an expression of shock on her face. In Cor Hydrae, Kalas had said those very words to her, trying to save her from Malpercio's power. No one but Kalas and his companions, including Allyr, could have known that he had said that. "What are you going on about?" shouted guard number one, "What are you-"

"I'll talk with you, Allyr," said Melodia, to the newcomer, Allyr, "Up here where we won't be disturbed."

Allyr immediately bolted up the stairs, three steps at a time. She was standing next to Melodia faster than she expected, a relieved look on Allyr's face, "Thanks so much!" she said. Then she added, "Your Highness."

Melodia looked back down at the two guards, still on the ground floor, "You may return to your duties," said Melodia. The guards bowed to their Duchess and returned to the door leading outside. "We can talk in private in my room," said Melodia to Allyr. Allyr merely nodded and followed Melodia in to her room. The room was as she remembered it: circular, with a four-poster bed, a table with a mirror, a dresser, and a window looking out into the foggy city beyond lined the walls. A painting of a vase of roses hung from a section of the wall. Allyr watched Melodia as she closed the door then turned to the former Spirit. "Pardon me for asking," started Melodia, think that Allyr looked more or less as she imaged she might with a physical body, "But why are you here? How did you get here, and in a body?"

"Um…" started Allyr, "It's a long story."

"We have all afternoon," said Melodia.

Allyr looked uncomfortable, "Do you know how I can get to Wazn?" asked Allyr, avoiding Melodia's questions, "I know it's been invaded, but need to get there as soon as possible."

Melodia looked surprised, "Have you been here long?" she asked, "You know about the siege?"

"Uh…" Allyr tried to find something to look at that was not Melodia, "Yes, I know about the siege, that's how I know it was invaded. I just need to get there as soon as I can."

_What is she hiding from me?_ Thought Melodia, _Does she not trust me? But then… I suppose she has reason to. Last time we met I tried to kill Kalas and his friends._ "Are you all right Allyr?" asked Melodia, "Why are you so rushed? Running into the middle of an invaded country isn't a well thought out plan." Allyr stayed silent. "I…" Melodia started, suddenly feeling uneasy, "Did you know… that Kalas was there… when Wazn was attacked?"

"No," said Allyr, though something about her tone seemed to tell Melodia that she was lying, "I didn't know."

Melodia looked at Allyr, certain now that she was hiding something. "I… I thought you should know," said Melodia, "…That there's a possibility that he, and everyone else on the island, might not have survived. There's been absolutely no contact with anyone in the island, except for Morjidza making wild claims…" Melodia tried to suppress a sob, "I…I can't bear the thought that Kalas might be dead," she said to no one in particular, looking at her feet, "He saved me from Malpercio when everyone else would have just left me to die. I don't want to think he can just suddenly be… gone! Just… not here anymore… just… gone…"

Allyr stayed silent as Melodia regained her composure. Melodia noticed Allyr glanced over to her right, looking at a patch in the air as if searching for something. Then as Melodia wiped away her tears, Melodia saw Allyr mouth the words, "Are you sure?" to the air.

"I'm sorry," said Melodia, sticking her observations in the back of her mind, "I shouldn't be crying. There's still hope, right? He could be alive, maybe Morjidza's just holding him captive-"

"Melodia," interrupted Allyr, her voice firm but with a note of doubt, as if she did not think that speaking was the best of ideas, "What if I told you… that I knew what happened to Kalas? _Exactly_ what happened to him?"

Melodia felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach, "You… you know?" she said, sounding stunned, her eyes wide with surprise, "You know what happened to him? Is he alive? How did he get off of Wazn? _Did_ he get off of Wazn? Does he know what-"

"It's… not good news," said Allyr, looking at her feet.

"Then…" started Melodia, her expression changing as realization sank in, a feeling like being buried alive, "He's… dead?"

"He's not dead… Per se." said Allyr hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" asked Melodia, not understanding how someone could not be dead, 'per se'.

Melodia jumped as she heard a voice in her head. It was not as if she really heard the sound, using her ears, it was as if the sound was coming right into her mind as no other sound does: _"Because I'm still here."_

Melodia clutched her head, thoughts reeling. She knew that voice, "What… what was that?" she said, more to herself then to Allyr, desperately trying to understand what was going on.

"Um… I don't think I need to introduce you to my Guardian Spirit, Melodia." Said Allyr, "Because you already know him."

Melodia's eyes widened with shock, and she seemed to stop breathing, "K… Kalas?" she said, "He's…. your Guardian Spirit?"

* * *

So Allyr told Melodia what had happened to her and Kalas since they had bonded in the park in her home so long ago. Allyr told Melodia everything, and Kalas filled in when Allyr forgot an important detail. Allyr told her about the Sabre dragon and the illusion monster, and about coming to this world. There were only three things she left out: All mention of Immortals, (Melodia seemed to have enough problems as it was), Kalas's confession to Allyr before they left her world, (Allyr thought that if Kalas wanted Melodia to know that, he would tell her himself.) and Kalas's pact with Death. 

When Allyr finished, she fell silent, waiting to see what Melodia's reaction would be. Melodia stared at Allyr, looking as if she was trying to digest all of this information at once. _It's got to be hard,_ thought Allyr, _Everything she's gone through already, and now I'm dumping this on her. Kalas wanted me to tell her, but something just doesn't seem fair.._

"So, Kalas really is… you really are… dead then?" said Melodia, looking at the air around Allyr, wondering where he was.

_"_… _Yes,"_ said Kalas, then he fell silent, afraid to say more. What could he say? He had a guess about how Melodia probably felt about him, after saving her from Malpercio. She had seemed so depressed after they fled Cor Hydrae after Malpercio died, and now she looked almost broken to hear about this.

"This… this is awful…" said Melodia to herself, "Thing were bad enough as they were, but now Kalas… you're…" Melodia trailed off. Then she looked up at Allyr, "Is this why you need to get to Wazn?" asked Melodia, looking depressed, "Are you going to avenge his death?"

_"__Partly,"_ said Kalas. Melodia suppressed a shudder at hearing his voice in her head, it seemed so unnatural to her. Though it had not bothered her as much when Allyr had been a Spirit, but to hear _Kalas's_ voice like this… that was different. _"But I don't know what happened to Xelha, and everyone else who was there. I was captured after everyone else. Then I was imprisoned in a cell in an airship, alone, I don't know for how long, until Morjidza killed me."_

"So they could all be dead too?" asked Melodia, "Grandfather… and everyone else?"

_"_..._I remember Morjidza saying that everyone else was alive,"_ said Kalas, _"I think he said that they were of value to him. But he could have been lying-"_

"Then there's hope!" said Melodia, clinging to this information, "They could still be alive! They could be saved!"

_"__Maybe,"_ said Kalas, _"I don't really know."_

Allyr was about to snap at Kalas and give him a mini-lecture on a little thing called 'discretion', when something suddenly clicked in her mind, "Excuse the interruption," said Allyr, "But Melodia, before you had said that Morjidza had been making wild claims of some sort? What were they?"

Melodia shuddered, "You wouldn't believe it," she said, "But Morjidza claims to be one of Malpercio's servants, and has come to avenge the death of his master."

"WHAT!" shouted Allyr, panic gripping her like the talons of a large bird of prey sinking into her back, "He's got ties with Malpercio?"

"It seems likely," said Melodia, as Allyr reeled at the implications of this fact, and Kalas pretended that he had not previously known this, "At first no one outside Wazn believed him. He had sent human heralds, apparently people who have been following him for some time, came to the islands to deliver the messages. Then the monsters from Cor Hydrae started attacking the other continents in random groups. Things haven't been going well since."

Allyr groaned in dismay, "This is awful," she said to no one in particular, "Have they been attacking often?" Melodia nodded, "Well, all the more reason to get to Wazn nice and fast."

"But how?" asked Melodia, "I… I mean… no one can get in or out. No one. Do you know how you're going to get in? Are you going to try it alone?"

"Well," started Allyr, who had a vague idea of how she was going to get in, "What about going through the Ice Cliffs? We might be able to-"

_"__NO!"_ shouted Kalas suddenly, _"You can't go through the Ice Cliffs! You'd freeze before you got anywhere near Cursa!"_

Allyr gave him a surprised look, which quickly became searching, "Do you have any other ideas?" she asked. He stayed silent. "Okay," said Allyr, looking back at Melodia, "Do you have an airship I can borrow?"

* * *

The fog was still thick over the city, letting little of the moonlight through the dense vapor. Kalas looked out the window of the little guestroom, trying to see something other than the slightly translucent fog. He vividly remembered nights like this, when the fog has been so dense it was impossible to see the sky. He had gotten use to it a long time ago. Allyr was lying on her side on the lone bed in the room, completely silent and still. 

_"__Can't sleep?"_ asked Kalas, still looking out the window.

Allyr sat up and looked over at the Spirit, "No," she said, wrapping her arms around her knees, "Not really. So you've learned to tell when I'm asleep?"

_"__It's not that hard to tell,"_ he said,_ "When I touch your mind it feels different… I suppose 'cloud like' is really the only way to describe it."_

Allyr sighed and lay back on the bed. She remembered what Melodia had told her earlier that day, _"Running into the middle of an invaded country isn't a well thought out plan."_ Melodia had denied Allyr an airship on the grounds that if she were killed in her attempt to enter Wazn, a great advantage in the war against Morjidza would have been lost. A Guardian Spirit's power was rarely given, and it was something too important to be carelessly tossed away.

_Makes me feel like a pawn in a chess game._ Thought Allyr glumly. Melodia had promised that it should not be long before Allyr could leave. But a plan_ did _have to be made, Allyr admitted that. _Nah, not really a pawn,_ decided Allyr to herself, _More of a rook that no one wants to loose by doing something stupid. Doesn't make me feel any better._

The pair remained silent for a long time, Kalas looking out the window, Allyr lying on her back, staring at the blank white ceiling. "I want to apologize in advance," started Allyr, "If this question bothers you… But did you die in the Ice Cliffs?"

Kalas was silent for a long time before answering, _"…Yes,"_ he said finally, not looking at Allyr, _"Remember when I said the cell I had been held captive in had been in an airship?"_ Allyr nodded, _"When the ship was flying over the Cliffs, I was taken out of the cell and Morjidza dumped me into the snow."_ He fell silent again. Allyr did not say anything, wondering if he would say more. Then, she realized, he did not need to say anything more. _"How did you figure it out?"_ asked Kalas.

"When I suggested that we go through the Ice Cliffs to reach Cursa undetected." Said Allyr, "Your reaction seemed out of character. I just guessed." A silence fell onto the pair that lasted a long time, or exactly how long, they would never be certain. "I'm sorry I brought it up," muttered Allyr, breaking the silence.

_"__Don't be,"_ said Kalas, _"It doesn't matter anymore."_

"…This is new," said Allyr, "I didn't think I'd ever hear you say that about your own death."

_"__I've come to terms with it,"_ he said, _"That's all."_ There was another long silence. _"You really should get some sleep,"_ said Kalas, _"Staying up all night worrying about everything isn't going to help anyone."_

"Same to you," said Allyr, setting back down.

_"__Spirits can't sleep,"_ pointed out Kalas, _"Remember? I never had to wake you up when you were the Guardian."_

"I meant the worrying,"said Allyr, lying on her side so she could look over at him, "If you worry I can't relax. Besides, it'll feel better if you think about something else."

_"__You'll never really stop being the Guardian, won't you?"_ said Kalas, Allyr caught the hint of a smile in his voice.

"Look who's talking," she said, smiling over at him, " 'Night Kalas." It would be half an hour until she fell asleep, but it was deep, long, and untroubled. Kalas just kept staring out at the foggy night, lost in his own thoughts.

* * *

Nekton was still locked in its eternal twilight, unchanging. Animals still flitted unseen between the tree trunks and around the thin branches. The red balls of light still hung like glowing red eyes, gazing down upon the forest. Inside the clearing in the forest's heart, there was silence. 

Then there was a slight shimmer in the air, barely perceptible like a heat haze seen in the corner of an eye. It might have really been there, or it could have just been a trick, played by the forest. When the shimmer was gone, it was replaced by a woman, with long spiky black hair, and red eyes.

"Damn her," muttered Malice, glaring angrily at the surrounding trees, as if blaming them for all her current problems, "Damn the both of them! If that little bitch had kept out of it, I wouldn't still be doing this! Now, where is she…" she stood silent in the clearing for a long time, apparently listening for something. Then she grinned to herself, a look not unlike a shark finally catching the scene of blood. _I found you, little girl,_ she thought, walking off out of the clearing, _And this time, I'll skip the games of cat and mouse. As soon as I find you, you _will_ die!

* * *

_

Did you really think I'd toss Malice that quickly? Yeah, she's back, and she's _angry_! But before anyone hurts me with pointy things, remember: Happy ending! I promised it way back in chapter 2 or 3, and I haven't changed my mind! Happy ending! HAPPY ENDING I TELL YOU!

(-cough-) Anyway, once more, please review. Anyone. At all. Please? (Gotta reach 50... soon...)


	14. Touch Of Fate

This chapter taught me something: Languages are easy to invent. Just bash the keyboard with a fist and keep whatever sounds good.

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Was that good enough for the lawyers out there?

* * *

Chapter XIII: Touch Of Fate 

_Kalas would never know for how long he flew through the Ice Cliffs, following some strange, deep instinct that was leading him. To where, he did not know. He silently hoped it was to his friends, family and the rulers. He wished desperately that he could see them, and prove to himself that they had not suffered the same fate at he had. What happened to him after… he neither knew nor cared._

_When he did finally emerge from the Ice Cliffs, he found himself at the coast, staring out at the vast Ocean. He still felt that strange tugging, leading him across the sea. Then for the first time, he resisted the instinct. Why over the Ocean? He looked to his left and saw Cursa and the palace, clearly, only ten miles or so away, an easy distance to cover for him to cover now. That was where he should go. If his friends were anywhere, it would be in Cursa._

_But he could not go there._

_The instinct that drove him before held him back. He fought it, trying to banish it from his mind. _I need to get to Cursa!_ He thought as he tried to resist the strange, alien instinct. He nearly won. _

_Nearly._

_As if someone else was physically moving him, he felt himself drawn away from Cursa. Now he was afraid, what was happening to him? Eventually, after what felt like an eternity of struggle, he surrendered. He followed the strange, alien drive to go somewhere else. As he flew away from Wazn, he suddenly felt very helpless, unable to even choose his own path, forced to go to an unknown destination…

* * *

_

Morjidza was in a foul mood. He had been in a perpetually foul mood for a couple days. He stood on a balcony, looking out at the snowy city of Cursa. It was almost noon but there were few people on the streets, or only a few he could see from the balcony. Those that were out were clearly in a hurry to get to their destinations. _They're probably afraid that I'll send my servants on a homicidal rampage._ He thought, a hint of a smile twisting his face. _That might be fun to watch. But inefficient and pointless nonetheless. Too bad, what I need now is good entertainment. Clearly they don't get a lot of that on this miserable heap of ice._

His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of strong wing beats. His gaze refocused onto a Diabolos, flying just outside of the palace, hovering not seven feet from the balcony. It looked at him with its one, red, slitted eye. Morjidza had used these creatures to capture Wazn and to capture his enemies. Generally, when summoned the creatures were so glad to be out of the Void at all that they would obey any command he made, even if it was not within the bounds of the original summons. The one that had just flown up to him was the 'leader' of the pack, if such a disorganized group could have a leader. He could tell by a rune engraved onto the axe-blade on the creature's weapon.

"_Ah'xneh_" it said with a voice like stones being smashed together, "_Tahnx zei hurghi rvifc_?"

Morjidza frowned. He did not understand a word of the language that the creature spoke. He did not know its origin, or particularly cared. While he did not know the language, he did not need to. The creatures he summoned responded to the human's common tongue as they would their own, though they could not speak it. "Whatever it is you want," he said to the Diabolos coldly, "You and the others of your race must wait. I have no need of you or your brethren at the moment. You will get your kills but you must cease to _pester me first_!"

The Diabolos had only the eye and a misshapen mouth filled with needle teeth for features on its face, but Morjidza could tell that it was both disappointed, and impatient. "_Hurgh edini'oi uy jkitil_!" it said, clearly protesting.

"I shall not repeat myself!" snapped Morjidza, "Leave me be!"

The Diabolos hissed, but seemed to accept that Morjidza would not budge on his issue. "_Tah hurgh abdeh, ah'xneh_." It said, with a note of what was unmistakably annoyance. With a powerful beat of its wings it flew off, to what destination Morjidza neither knew nor cared. He would have loved to banish them back to the Void, but he needed them and could not waste sacrifices to re-summon them. They were getting restless. He did not fear that they would rise up against him, the summoning's bindings prevented that, but they were becoming a great annoyance. Though they _were_ valuable, and would only dispose of them when they became a liability.

The thought returned him to his earlier ponderings, the bizarre threat that the Immortal had. He snorted, he was skeptical about it, even if the Immortal could not lie. However, he told himself that this was nothing. And yet his nightmares were no better, and now he had _this_ possible complication to worry about. Morjidza considered it a miracle in its own right if Kalas, that miserable, one-winged, pathetic, Magnus-born _freak_ could even _have_ daughter at all!

But it still bothered him. He scowled out at the city. Was he to be haunted by ghosts, and vague threats the rest of his life? Bah! Kalas was as dead as a doornail, and he doubted that any _brat_ of his could pose _any_ threat. He, Morjidza had taken the island of Wazn, with a handful of men and a troop of Diabolos. Surely some _kid_ that was not even _born_ yet could, or should frighten him, let alone the memory of a dead man.

If that was so, then why was his sleep plagued by nightmares, and his waking thoughts full of fear?

* * *

_"__Allyr?"_

"Ugh…"

_"__Allyr?"_

"Hmmm…"

_"__Allyr, wake up."_

"Uh… go away…"

_"__I can't."_

"Huh?"

_"__Allyr, wake up!"_

Allyr opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the bright sunshine coming in through the window to the small guestroom. She closed her eyes and groaned. _"Allyr, wake up."_ Repeated Kalas.

"All right, all right!" said Allyr, sitting up. "Killjoy." She muttered under her breath, hoping Kalas would not hear her.

_"__I heard that."_

"Okay, fine! You're not a killjoy! Just give me a minute will ya?" She sat up and tried to rub the sleep from her eyes. She yawned widely, "Did something happen?" she asked, "Why'd you wake me up?"

_"__First,"_ started Kalas, _"It's almost noon. You've been asleep longer than any sane person should be."_

"What makes you so sure it's almost noon?" asked Allyr.

_"__I watched the sun,"_ he said, _"It wasn't hard. How can you possibly sleep for so long?"_

"Do we have to argue about my sleeping habits? And remember, I was almost killed yesterday. In fact, I've had _three_ different attempts on my life since you fell back into my life. And-"

_"__Point taken. And Melodia came in here once wondering if you were awake. I promised to wake you up if you didn't do that yourself."_

"Melodia came in here?" asked Allyr.

_"__Poked her head around the door,"_ said Kalas, _"I think she had something she wanted to say to you."_

Allyr looked at Kalas, surprised, "Really? Did she tell you what?" asked Allyr.

_"__No,"_ he admitted, _"That was just an assumption."_

Allyr scowled, "So you woke me up based on a _guess_?" she said annoyed.

_"__Melodia asked me to wake you up,"_ replied Kalas stiffly, _"Even if she hadn't I would have woken you up anyway."_

Allyr stood up and stretched her arms over her head. Well, there was no going back to sleep now. She was wearing a loose white shirt and similar pair of pants that she had been given. "Stare at the wall for a minute." She said to Kalas, walking over to a table where her normal clothes lay folded neatly. Five minutes later, she walked out of the guestroom, fully clothed, and looked around at the general area.

The guestrooms were in a building adjacent to the manor. It was completely deserted except for Kalas and Allyr. She wandered out into a bright, warm, Miran afternoon. The sun felt great after the hazy winter sun in Allyr's world. She was standing in the streets of Balancoire, the manor to her left.

"There you are," said a voice out of the blue, "And right where I want you."

Allyr turned to the source of the voice, and nearly died from shock right on the spot. Malice was walking up the streets of Balancoire, right up to where Allyr now stood. Malice was attracting many stares, but her red eyes were focused solely on Allyr. Allyr instinctively took a step back, but seemed to have forgotten how to run. Kalas seemed to have remembered what to do at a moment like this, as Allyr felt the now familiar flow of power in her veins. Not for the first time, she lost herself in the great feeling of power. Shimmering blue-white light surrounded her body, and her right hand glowed bright blue. "I am the Air, dispeller of Time!" she shouted, "DISTORTING WIND!"

Ribbons of visible, twisting wind appeared. They coiled and bent around Malice, and the force of the small gale was enough to make Allyr and unfortunate passer-bys stagger under the wind's force. It lasted for a few seconds, but soon it was all over. Many of the cobbles in the street had been torn out and flung many feet from where they had previously been. Malice stood in the middle of the ruin, arms folded across her chest, giving Allyr an unimpressed look.

Later, Allyr would think, in retrospect, that as it had not worked the first time, both she and Kalas should not have been stupid enough to think it would work this time.

_"__Don't just stand there like a lazy Pow!"_ shouted Kalas, _"RUN!"_

Allyr did not run. She bolted.

The city itself is surrounded by a short stone wall, marking its boundaries. It was never a military base, so the walls were never meant to keep anyone out. Which was why Allyr could vault the stone wall with relative ease. Or perhaps the movement was more of a graceful trip than a jump. Outside the boundaries was a meadow, which as one got further and further from the city slowly became forest, which would many, many miles down the road become the Shrine of Spirits. Allyr reached the forest, panting for breath but her adrenaline soaked brain barely registered it. She was not even sure if Malice was following her. About a yard into the forest Allyr did something terribly cliché: she tripped.

She did not see the tree root, but her foot connected with it suddenly and solidly, and Allyr found herself lying on the ground rather than sprinting away from the city and the assumed danger. She twisted around on the ground to see Malice, grinning widely, walking right up to where Allyr laid. Malice looked like she was in no rush to kill her target.

"This makes it easy," said Malice, "And this time, Death's not coming to save your worthless skin."

Allyr knew Malice was right. Death probably would not save them. If anything she would probably be _happy_ if Allyr died. Then Death could take Kalas and not worry about breaking a sacred bond. Panic welled up within Allyr; this time she really would die. Malice was standing over the prone Allyr, a grin of wicked pleasure on her face.

Then something strange happened. Kalas just seemed to suddenly… fall unconscious. It was not as if he had fainted. But Allyr suddenly had his overwhelming feeling that something was wrong with him. It was as if her Guardian had suddenly been knocked out by something…

"What the hell is this?" said Malice. Allyr looked up at Malice, who had a stunned look on her face. Then Allyr looked down at the ground she was lying on, and gasped in surprise. She was now sitting in the middle of a hexagram drawn in the ground, made of lines of light of ever changing colors.

_What's this? _Thought Allyr, _Is Kalas doing this?_ Malice launched a punch at Allyr, but hit an invisible barrier of some sort, sending out a shower of bright white sparks without getting near Allyr. Then Malice's eyes widened, as if in realization.

"…You…" said Malice, almost like an accusation, glaring down at Allyr looking shocked, "_You_, of all people, have the protection of The Six?"

"…What?" said Allyr, wondering what the hell was going on.

Malice took a step back from Allyr, and looked up at the sky. "I know you're watching!" Malice shouted at the sky, "You'd better listen to me! Free me from my bonds and I'll leave your precious little _protégé _alone! I don't give a _damn _whether she lives or dies, but I can't break my chains! You hear me? FREE ME!"

Allyr wondered if Immortals could go insane. But after a minute it seemed, that there was someone listening. Malice's body began to shimmer like a heat hazy, faded, and then was gone, as if she had never been there. The lines of light forming the hexagram faded, and all was silent.

_Oh my God… Kalas!_ Allyr thought in a panic. She felt out for him, and felt him 'lying' on the ground a foot from her. "Kalas?" she said, "Are you all right?" He said nothing. "Kalas?" Silence. "_Kalas_!" No response. Now she was scared. She bit her lip nervously, what should she do?

What _could_ she do?

* * *

Kalas groaned; he felt awful. As if he had been buried under a ton of bricks then roughly pulled out from under the pile. What had just happened? He could only half remember it; his head seemed to be filled with a thick gray fog. He shifted slightly, trying to get his bearings back. Something… felt funny. He felt strangely dizzy, but he could not remember why he felt like that. Well, that was not it. It was a feeling he could not quite place or describe. When the world swam back into focus, he came sharply back to reality with a thud. He sat bolt upright, and started looked around… And instantly stiffened. _I sat up?_ He thought. A simple act, but he did not have a body anymore. He was a disembodied Spirit, how could he sit up? Confused, he down looked at what would have been his body in life, and was met with the sight of the closest thing he had to a real body in what felt like years. 

He was met with the sight of his own body, as it looked in life, with the single difference of being transparent, as if he were just a ghost. He lifted an arm, and started at it, transfixed, and he looked right through his forearm. _Wh… what the…?_ He finally began to take his surroundings in, and they proved to be as strange as his sudden transformation.

Everything was black, pitch black. As if some great Creator lacked the desire, or perhaps imagination, to actually create anything. The only thing that existed in the strange void, was a hexagram drawn onto the dark ground with multicolored lines, constantly changing color. Kalas sat in the exact center of the hexagram, and something told him it would be unwise to go beyond the lines of light.

"Ah, you have awakened." Said a voice. Female, and it reminded Kalas of a summer breeze rustling the branches of trees.

_"__Huh?"_ he said, looking around, trying to see who had spoken, _"Who's there?"_

"I am glad you are well," said a second voice. Male, crackling like a flame, "I was afraid you would not wake."

_"__Who's there?"_ repeated Kalas, standing up.

"Calm yourself," said a third voice, female, flowing and steady.

Kalas spun around, trying to find the source of the voices, and found no one. He was completely alone. _"Who's there?"_ he repeated, a note of fear in his voice. He did not know to who he was talking to, or what he was talking to.

"Do not worry, little Spirit," said a fourth voice, once more female, bright and lighthearted, "We do not mean you any harm."

_"__Then show yourself!"_ challenged Kalas, though his voice sounded weak, even to him, _"Don't hide from me!"_

He heard a deep, hearty laugh behind him. He spun around trying to find the source of the laughter. Nothing was there. "You seem to be doing _very_ well for what we put you through." Said a fifth voice, male, deep and dark.

_I'm going mad._ Though Kalas, desperately trying to find someone else in that void with him, trying to find someone who could have spoken. _I'm hearing voices now. _ He thought, _I'm losing my mind._

"You are not losing your mind, little Spirit," said a sixth voice, male, the voice was rhythmic as clockwork. Kalas stood stock-still, realizing that whoever, or whatever, had spoken might have just read his mind, "We merely do not want you to see us… yet."

_"__Um… we?"_ said Kalas, _"Who exactly are you?"_

"Friends," said the second simply.

"We want to help you," Said the third, "We mean you and your partner no harm."

Allyr! He had completely forgotten about her! _"Where's Allyr?"_ Kalas shouted, not sure where he should direct this, _"What did you do to her?"_

"Nothing," said the first, "We have done her no harm. She is well, body, mind, and soul. You shall return to her and find that we do not harm those whom we watch over."

_"__Wait… what?"_ said Kalas, confused, _"You've been… watching us? But… how? And… well… where am I anyway? How-"_

"You certainly ask a lot of questions," commented the fourth, "Curiosity is a good thing. As for where we are, you are still in forest. Think of this as a sort of illusion. Everything you see and hear now is a part of that illusion."

_"__Why can't I talk right _to_ you right now?"_ asked Kalas, still unsure where he should direct his questions.

"You have many questions," said the fifth, "But we cannot answer them now. You must wait, little Spirit."

_"_…_For what?"_

"You will know when the time comes," said the first, "For now, you must rest, and recover. Recover and return to your partner, who now is worrying about your well-being. Please… rest… And when you wake, you shall have no memory of what has happened from when the sun rose this morning, to the moment before you wake."

_"__But I don't understand!"_ Kalas blurted, _"What happened just now? I… it felt like…"_

"That," said the sixth, "Is one of many questions that will be saved for our next encounter."

_"__When's that going to be?"_

"Soon," said the second, "Very soon. You will know when the time has come, even with the memory of this meeting gone from your mind."

_"__But-"_

"You must leave," the fifth interrupted, "Your partner worries about you. Understandably so. You want to return to her, yes?"

_"__Of course!"_ said Kalas, sounding almost offended, _"Why wouldn't I?"_

"Good, good," said the sixth, almost distractedly, "That is good… Very good..."

"Then go to her," said the third gently.

Kalas was about to say more, but he was suddenly overcome by a strange fatigue. He swayed a little, as if drunk, and then crumpled in a heap on the black ground. The assembled beings watched him vanish, his ghost form dissipating suddenly as they released him from the illusion.

"Will they be well?" said the first, voice filled with doubt, to no one in particular.

The fifth sighed heavily, and said simply, "What's done is done."

* * *

He he... I love being obscure. It makes me feel powerful. 

Yet again, I plead you, my readers, to review.


	15. Noon Star

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos. Short and simple. Because that's how I feel now.

* * *

Chapter XIV: Noon Star 

_Kalas flew over the Ocean, following an instinct that was alien to him. Finally, after a long journey, he had arrived in Mira. He had arrived in Nekton, the Shrine of Spirits. He was floating among the trees in the forest, feeling as if the plants were watching him. He felt to real desire to go anywhere suddenly, something about this place suddenly felt right. Later, he would think that it was because he was visiting the Shrine of Spirits, as a Spirit himself._

_Eventually, he wandered into the clearing where he had first met his Guardian Spirit, Allyr. He laughed, it seemed so ironic that he had finally made his way here, of all place, considering the state he was now in. He looked around at the familiar surroundings, trying to figure out what he should do next…

* * *

_

Melodia, followed by five knights, ran into the forest where Allyr had fled, chased by that strange woman. Who was she? Why was Allyr so afraid of her? Well, that was probably a given, as Allyr had clearly cast a spell on the woman, and the stranger was completely untouched. The stranger had even looked _bored_ after Allyr cast a Spirit Spell that should have torn her to pieces.

Melodia spotted Allyr, pacing nervously three feet into the forest. She had a worried look on her face.

"Allyr," said Melodia, walking up to the former Spirit, "Are you okay?"

"Um… I'm just fine," said Allyr, turning to face Melodia, "But-"

"Thank the gods!" said Melodia, relieved, "Who was that woman who attacked you?"

"Lady Melodia," said one of the knights. Allyr recognized him as the one who had tired to get rid of Allyr the other day, "It would be best if this was discussed at the manor."

Melodia nodded, "You're right," said Meldia. Melodia turned to Allyr, "It _would_ be best if we went back to the manor." she said, simply.

"Um… I can't." said Allyr, looking nervous, yet apologetic.

"Are you hurt?" asked Meldoia, looking worried.

"Well... No," said Allyr, "I'm all right… but…"

"What's wrong?" asked Melodia when Allyr hesitated.

Allyr cast an anxious glance at the knights. She lowered her voice so they would not be able to hear her, "When I said I can't go back to the manor," said Allyr, "I mean I'm physically _incapable_ of going." Casting a wary glance at the knights, Allyr quickly explained, "Look, something's happened and Kalas is out cold-"

"But he's a Spirit!" said Melodia, but kept her voice down, understanding Allyr's unspoken desire to keep the knights out of this, "How can he fall unconscious?"

"Got me," said Allyr, shrugging, "Sometimes it happened to me before. But the problem is I can't walk too far from him, because I'm bound to him. Generally, it's the other way around. If I go somewhere he has to follow." She shrugged, "Apparently that doesn't apply now. I'm stuck here because he's comatose. Make sense?"

"… A little," said Melodia, "But what are you going to do? You can't just wait out here for him to wake up?"

"Pardon my rudeness," said Allyr, "But do you have a better idea? It's not as if someone can drag him inside the manor. I'll wait out here for him to wake up. And once I'm sure he's fine we'll head over to the manor. Sounds like a plan?"

"…But what about that woman?"

"Oh… Her… Um…" Allyr hesitated, "I… Don't think she'll be coming back."

"How do you know that?" asked Melodia, "And why did you run from her?"

"First, I said ' I don't _think_ she'll come back' right? I'm not sure," said Allyr. She hesitated briefly before continuing, "And… why I ran is something I don't really want to talk about with these guys," she indicated the knights with a wave of her hand, "Floating around us. Is that okay with you? I promise as soon as Kalas wakes up we'll go to the manor."

Melodia was not sure how to react. Instead she changed the subject, "How long has he been unconscious?"

Allyr shrugged, "A few minutes," said Allyr, "You guys got out here fast. There wasn't a lot of time between him falling unconscious and you coming here."

"Are you sure you want to wait out here?"

"Positive."

Melodia looked at Allyr's face as if trying to look for doubt. Then she sighed, "I understand," she said. She turned to the knights with her, "We'll head back to the manor. Allyr will stay here for a little while longer." The knights gave Melodia surprised looks but none of them commented.

Allyr watched them go, feeling detached from the whole situation. She looked back down to where she knew Kalas was lying out cold. She sat down at the base of a tree, and did the only thing she could do. Wait.

* * *

Kalas groaned and stirred slightly. He felt awful. He heard someone call his name but could not identify the voice. The voice called to him again. He looked up at the sky, but his view was obscured by thick, twisting tree branches. Once more he heard the voice call his name. _"Who's there…?"_ he said thickly. 

"Moron," said the voice, "It's me, Allyr, remember?"

_"_…_What happened?"_ he asked. He looked over at Allyr, who was sitting at the base of a large tree, looking over at him. She looked nervous. _"How'd I get here?"_ asked Kalas, taking in the sight of the forest, feeling confused and very, very lost.

Allyr stared at Kalas, clearly very anxious, "You mean," She started, "You don't remember?"

_"__Remember what?"_

Allyr stared at Kalas, which made him feel very uncomfortable. "You mean…" said Allyr, "You don't remember _anything_?"

_"__I don't have amnesia!"_ protested Kalas, _"I remember my name and yours! It's not as if I'm completely lost!"_

"Names aren't what I'm worried about now." Said Allyr, "I was almost killed, and you don't remember a thing?"

_"__What?"_ said Kalas, alarmed, _"What do you mean you were almost killed?"_

"It's exactly how it sounds," said Allyr, "Malice popped up, so we tried casting Distorting Wind on her, which was about as effective as trying to cut down a redwood tree with a feather. Then I ran out here… and I um… _tripped, _" she muttered something Kalas could not hear before continuing, "She was bearing down on me when…" Allyr trailed off. "Are you sure you don't remember anything?" she asked.

_"__Last thing I remember was looking out the window in that guestroom by the manor,"_ said Kalas, _"Then... there's just this black fog."_

"You don't remember… anything _weird_ happening?" asked Allyr.

_"_…_Weird? How weird?"_ asked Kalas, thoroughly confused.

Allyr was silent for a minute. Suddenly she stood up, "I promised Melodia I'd head back up to the manor when you came to," said Allyr, "Come on, let's go."

_"__How long have I been out?"_ asked Kalas tentatively, changing the subject.

Allyr shrugged, "I don't know," she said, "Maybe about… half an hour, possibly an hour at the most. It's been a long, long while anyways. At least it felt that way."

_"__It feels like I've been out for days…"_

Allyr shrugged again, "I don't think it's possible to really keep track of time when you're unconscious." Commented Allyr, "Come on," she added, cocking her head to one side, "Let's go."

* * *

_-Four days later_

"How do you think my flying is?"

_"__Um…"_

"You could be a little more specific."

_"__Do I really need to be?"_

"I'm not doing that bad!"

_"__I beg to differ…"_

"Don't tell me you're sick!"

_"__No, just not very happy."_

"It's not that hard. Just the wheel, and then this little lever thing here, which is sort of like the pedals on a car, the accelerator and brake. It's not that different."

_"__Why me…? What god have I angered this time…?"_

"Stop whining," said Allyr with a smile, "It'll all be over soon. See?" she pointed, "See the bump on the horizon? That's Wazn, just as Melodia said it would be."

_"__Yeah, as soon as we land on a giant ice cube, floating in the middle of a giant puddle, where my killer and your attempted murderer is currently residing… Yup, as soon as we get there we'll be plenty safe."_ Said Kalas dully.

Allyr started whistling happily. The past four days had been a combination of planning on both her and Melodia's part, with Kalas offering his ideas whenever the other two did not have any. In a relatively short time, they had come up with a plan to infiltrate Wazn. Despite Kalas's protests, Allyr was to take an airship, by the name of _Noon Star_, into the far end of the Ice Cliffs, hike on foot to the city walls, sneak in, and then eventually infiltrate the castle. Even Melodia agreed that it was not the greatest plan ever conceived by the human mind. But various details of the plan would hopefully make it a little easier to get through this whole thing alive. Said 'details' were for later however, and Allyr was having a great time flying the _Noon Star._

The airship, the _Noon Star_, had been procured by Melodia the day previous. Kalas thought it was the ugliest thing he had ever seen and had no trouble expressing his opinion. Allyr loved it.

The _Noon Star's_ hull was painted camouflage blue-white, so it would blend in with the sky if one look up from the ground. Occasionally when there were skirmishes between islands of the Sky, such airships were used, particularly in inevitable head on dogfights. The hull was curved, for minimum wind resistance, with two wide wings.

"…Hey Kalas," started Allyr, keeping her eyes trained on the view beyond the glass windshield, "There's something I want to ask you."

_"__What is it?"_ he asked, wondering what it could be.

"When you promised Death your soul… were you really sure about it?"

The pair had an unspoken agreement not to talk about Kalas's pact with Death. But the question had been bothering Allyr recently, and she had not worked up the courage, until now, to ask him.

_"__What choice did I have?"_ he said, _"It was either stay in your world or offer my soul."_

"There might have been another way-"

_"__Might,"_ pointed out Kalas, _"It just as likely to have been no other way than the existence of another path. It's not as if I'm going quietly,"_ he added quickly, _"The deal wasn't exact, I've been trying to find a way to worm out of the deal."_

"…Well that explains a lot," said Allyr, "You have been doing a lot of thinking, ever since you died, and that's normally not your field."

_"__Ha ha,"_ said Kalas sarcastically, _"Very funny."_

Allyr was opened her mouth to say something else when the whole airship shook violently, like an animal in its last death throws. Allyr stumbled but kept her balance by clinging onto the large wheel of the airship. "What the…?" The airship was rocked again by what felt like an explosion.

_"__Diabolos!"_ shouted Kalas, who had apparently been doing the smart thing and looked out the window to see what was going on, rather than just float there and panic, which was what Allyr was doing. Minus the floating.

"Diabolos?" started Allyr as she righted herself, "What'd you-" she was interrupted as one of the bird-monsters flew into clear view in front of the window, and she could see it in all its evil glory. "Oh… those. I forgot about them…" said Allyr sheepishly. The ship was rocked again, as the Diabolos attacked the ship, sinking the blades of their weapons into the _Noon Star_'s hull. Then there was a spluttering sound, and then the whole world seemed to go strangely quiet.

_"__That was the engine wasn't it?"_ said Kalas, sounding oddly calm. Allyr gripped the wheel as if it was the last solid thing in the world as the airship's nose began to tilt downward.

Allyr swore, and clutched the wheel even tighter. It was strange, she was confronted with imminent death, she felt like she should say something. But her mind seemed to have seized up, terror stopping her brain from functioning properly. She closed her eyes as the airship fell into the sea. It was as if the _Noon Star_ had run into a solid wall rather than the surface of the Ocean. The force of the contact jarred Allyr violently, as the airship began to fill with water as the hull broke. The last thing Allyr remembered before falling unconscious, was the distant sound of a whale singing.

* * *

The first thing Allyr realized was that she was not dead. The second thing she realized was that she was lying on something very solid. She could still feel Kalas. Everything seemed to be fine. Nothing was broken, and she was still breathing. Except she did not remember how she had gotten here. She lay with her eyes closed, feeling as if she had been beaten around the head with a baseball bat. Then she remembered what had happened, the _Noon Star _had been attacked by a flock of Diabolos and had fallen into the Ocean. As this memory returned, something else occurred to her: Even though the airship she had been in had crashed into the ocean, she was not wet. 

She opened her eyes, and decided that she must be dead after all. She sat up, trying to get a better view so she could make sure that she was seeing what she was seeing, and was not seeing. There was… nothing there. Everything was black as oblivion. The only thing that existed was a large hexagram drawn into the ground in multicolored lines of light.

_"__Oh my gods…"_ Allyr turned at the sound of Kalas's voice, and stared stunned at her Guardian.

This was probably the strangest development yet. It took her a minute to really realize that she was looking at him, and _seeing _him. He looked as he had in life, just as she had remembered him. But his body was translucent, she could see him, but she could clearly see the boundaries of the hexagram _through_ him. He held up a hand, as he looked right through the palm of his hand, a stunned look on his face. Then he looked around, at the strange, empty surrounding. _"It's… weird…"_ he said, _"I… I think I've been here before…"_

"What?" said Allyr, "What do you mean? You've been in this…" she searched for the right word, "This _place_ before?"

Kalas looked over at her, apparently to comment, and then turned his gaze to something behind Allyr. She had never thought it would be possible for a ghost to blanch. Kalas just did. _"Whatever you do,"_ he started, a shocked look on his face, _"Don't turn around."_

Allyr stiffened; suddenly getting the prickly feeling on the back of her neck that told her someone behind her was watching her. Then she asked, "Why?"

"I won't turn you to stone," said a calm voice behind Allyr, "Please, turn around."

Allyr's shoulders stiffened a little more, "Why?" she said again, this time directing the question to whomever, or whatever was behind her.

"Just turn around," said the voice, "And see for yourself."

Despite Kalas's warning, Allyr did turn around.

She wished she had listened to him.

* * *

Ah... good ol' cliffhangers. 

Please review, again. It makes everyone happy.


	16. The Spirit Watchers

NOOOOO! Since the last chapter, I have discovered that Nintendo has moved the BKII release date (Which has been renamed Baten Kaitos Origins) from June to September 25! NO! I want to _enjoy_ summer! Evil, evil Nintendo...

Disclaimer: If you haven't caught the pattern yet, I don't own Baten Kaitos, or its characters, etc. Happy?

* * *

Chapter XV: The Spirit Watchers 

_There seemed to be no transition, or if there was he could not remember it._

_Suddenly he was no longer in the Shrine of Spirits, but in a different forest. A forest with an artificial path through it was made of a dark stone Kalas could not identify. There were strange voices and noises in the distance that Kalas could not make out. He recognized nothing. Not the place, not the voices, not the sounds, or even the people who sometimes wandered by, walking on the strange artificial path._

_He was more scared that he had ever been in his life, or afterlife. There was a big tree nearby, an oak by the looks of the leaves, which seemed very much like the large tree back in the clearing in Nekton. He floated up to it and stayed among its thick branches, trying to figure out what had happened, and what he should do now.  
_

_He stayed there for days. Whenever someone passed by he hid, afraid of what would happen if someone saw a ring of glowing blue feathers sitting in a tree. He knew it was an irrational fear, but he felt it was best to be safe._

_Then one fall afternoon, another person passed by his tree, but somehow she seemed to jump out at him. She was about his age, and had long brown hair, almost down to her waist. She seemed to be angry about something. She stopped walking, looked frustrated, then turned on her heel to go the other way. As she turned, she spotted Kalas._

_He hid behind the tree trunk, just as he had when anyone spotted him. He heard the faint crunching of leaves as she approached the tree. She did not go away. Doing the equivalent of taking a deep breath to steady himself, he came out from around the tree, and looked down at the woman who had spotted him. The woman looked up at him, looking surprised and slightly confused. _"Help me!"_ shouted Kalas, his voice distant and echoing, desperate for any help he could get, even from a stranger, who nevertheless seemed familiar, _"Help me! Help me please!" _After a minute of staring, the woman's eyes widened, as if in realization._

"_Kalas?" she said tentatively, "Is that you?"

* * *

_

"This is it then…" said Allyr, unable to take her eyes off what had been behind her, "This is it, I've died and gone to Hell…"

"You are not dead," said the being who had been standing behind Allyr, "I can assure you that you are very much alive." The being grinned, "And as I said, you have not turned to stone, have you not?"

Allyr opened her mouth as if to say something, but all that came out was a weak sort of wheeze. Now behind her, Allyr could hear Kalas mutter, _"…I said _don't_ turn around. And what does she do? Turn around_..._"_

The being smiled down at her, a slightly embarrassed look on its face, "Oh dear, this has not gone very well has it?" it said, sounding sheepish, "Pardon the shock you must have received, but we aren't very good at interacting with mortals."

"Um… 'we'?" said Allyr apprehensively, wondering _which_ Hell she had landed herself in, "There's _more_ of you?"

"Yes," said the being, "I'm one of The Six,"

Allyr tried to remember where she had heard mention of 'The Six' before, while asking, "Are they all… like you?"

The being laughed, "Are you surprised?" it asked.

"Yes," said Allyr a little more bluntly than was really necessary.

The being's shape was… undefined at best. It seemed to be made of light, a bright, turquoise light, floating directly over one point of the hexagram, which now contained Allyr and her partner. But the being's shape kept changing. Once it was a colored ball of light, then it was a large cat, then a woman, then a snake, then the light again, then another woman… it kept on changing. When it changed the light shifted, and Allyr had to stare at it before she realized what it was supposed to be. Then, just as Allyr figured it out, the shape would change again, just like when, if one stares hard enough, two faces suddenly become a chalice.

"Who… who are you?" stuttered Allyr, trying to wrap her brain around the situation.

The being seemed to smile, and something about the light suddenly and irrationally struck Allyr and Kalas as being _feminine. _"You know me," said the being,

"You know us all."

Allyr and Kalas turned around, to see another ball of light, shifting and changing as the first one did. This one was red, however. Red like fire, and whenever it took human form, it was always a man, or a boy in one case. "You have no reason to fear us," said the second.

"You should not fear any of us." Another being appeared, floating above another point of the hexagram, thing one a darker blue from the first.

Slowly, three other colored beings light appeared, each and every one floating above one point of the hexagram. One was white, one was, oddly enough, black, but black enough to make the surrounding oblivion seem gray, if that was even possible, and the last was green.

"…_What's going on?"_ said Kalas, just as much to himself as to the other around him. Unconsciously, he and Allyr scooted a little closer together, taking some comfort in the other's presence. At least if they were in Hell, they were not alone in it.

"You have known us for a very long time," said the fourth, the shifting white light, "More than two years in fact."

"We have watched over you as if you were our own children," said the fifth, the dark light being, "Even if we were unable to do anything to help you."

"This moment has been a long time in the making," said the sixth, the green light being, "And I am happy to finally see you two in person, if not in the flesh," it added with a nod at Kalas.

The hapless pair scooted even closer together, trying to understand what was happening and who, or what, these beings were.

"They don't understand," said the fourth, "I'm afraid we have jumped into things."

"_Did you _just_ figure that out?"_ said Kalas, his voice a little higher than it normally was, _"Who are you? _What_ are you? Why do you want us?"_

"Are you going to kill me and take him?" asked Allyr, trying to find a hidden reserve of courage. She was not so much of being killed, as much as what would happen to Kalas if he was taken. The pair were unsure exactly why the beings scared them so much. It was hard to describe. Perhaps it was just because they had no idea what was going on, who or what these beings were, and what they wanted with Allyr and Kalas.

All the beings began to laugh, as if mildly amused by Allyr and Kalas. It unnerved the pair on a deep level. "Kill you?" said the second being, "Why would we ever want to do that?"

"_Because that's been the recent trend,"_ said Kalas, _"People seem to enjoy trying to kill us."_

"We have no desire to hurt you," said the second, "Why would we? When we love you as we would our own?"

_Okay…_ Thought Kalas and Allyr almost simultaneously, a slight side effect of being bound to one another. They were both pretty confused by the whole situation.

"Perhaps an explanation would be useful," started the first.

_About time,_ thought Kalas.

"As we have already said, you know us already," continued the first, "But we shall tell you our names, just to jog your memory." The first being seemed to straighten up, like a falcon proudly showing off its feathers.

"I am Air," said the first.

"I am Fire," said the second.

"I am Water," said the third.

"I am Light," said the fourth.

"I am Darkness," said the fifth.

"I am Time," said the sixth, the last.

"And we are The Six, the Spirit Watchers, and Protectors of the Guardians!" chanted all six at the same time.

_Okay…_ Thought Allyr and Kalas, once more almost at the same time. They both still felt pretty confused.

Then it seemed to click: _"I am Air, dispeller of Time!"_, _"I am Darkness, hear my Voice!"_, _"I am Water, dispeller of Fire!"_

"You are correct in your thoughts," said the first, Air, seeming to read the pair's minds, which did little to make them feel any less nervous, "We do correspond to the Spirit Spells. Thought we have naught to do with the casting."

"… That doesn't really say much," said Allyr, "I mean… what do you _do_ then, if you have nothing to do with the Spells? I mean," she searched for the right words, "Doesn't it seem kind of pointless to just… _be there_?"

"There needs to be someone to guard the Guardians, no?" said Darkness, "And that is what we do. And as for a 'point', does there need to be one? One could argue that life itself is pointless. Animals, plants, and all manner of mircoorganisms evolve and struggle to survive. And to what end? It is there, merely for its own sake."

"_Can you be a little less vague?"_ said Kalas _"Or do you enjoy talking in riddles?"_

"It is not a riddle," said Water, "It is what we do; guard the Guardians. We have watched you ever since you first bonded, making you our responsibility. We could do nothing to aid you, nothing. Until recently, even speaking to you would have been impossible. Until now, we have simply been content to watch, as we always have, and after this meeting, always will."

Allyr, now that her fear was beginning to fade, was becoming irritated. "Can't you just give us some answers?" she said, "Like, what do you mean you haven't been able to do anything _until now_? If you're so powerful, does that make you gods? Or are you Immortals-"

"No," interrupted Time, sounding offended, "We are not one of them. Nor are we gods."

"Then what _are_ you?"

"We simply are." Replied Time, a hint of a smile in his voice.

It sounded like the kind of answer Mizuit would give.

"Let me draw the distinction then," said Water, "How do you define a god?"

"_An all-powerful being,"_ replied Kalas for Allyr.

"And we are not all-powerful," said Water, "So we are not gods. What are Immortals?"

"… People that live forever." Said Allyr, feeling like she was either being quizzed, or on some interdimensional game show.

"Wrong," said Water, her form seeming to flicker, "They are not people."

"They are concepts, given flesh," said Fire, "In the Great Void, the universe from which Cor Hydrae hails, every concept ever imagined by any living creature is given form and independent life. They can die, however," added Fire, a grin seeming to spread across his face, whether he had one at the time or not, "But they only die when no one believes in that concept anymore. Until then, they are ageless, and cannot die. As many a dictator has learned the hard way: You cannot kill a concept."

_One less mystery in the world,_ thought Allyr, _Thought not very useful, unless I can get everyone in existence to stop believing in death. Then maybe that freaky little girl will stop stalking us, demanding Kalas's soul._

"As for your other question," started Light, "We have been unable to help you, or contact you because we are unable to go beyond the boundaries of this nexus, a sort of pocket universe, not quite in one world or another."

"_So now we're somewhere between worlds?"_ said Kalas, trying to wrap his mind around the implications.

Light seemed to nod at him, "You are right, little Spirit," she said, "We cannot leave it. And you are only here because of special… circumstances."

"Think of it this way," started Darkness before either Allyr or Kalas asked the inevitable question, "Beings from the same worlds tend to attract beings from the same world. Like a magnet in reverse, if positive attracted positive and negative attracts negative."

"An attraction to a being in another world is a rare thing," added Air, "And deepens into the bond that a Guardian and their charge shares, their souls directly bound to one another."

"Back to the explanation," continued Darkness, "The man you are after, Morjidza, he is a summoner, as you both already know. With profane rituals he can summon and bind to his will monsters from your world, Spirit, or monsters from the Great Void. He has done this so much recently, that it is upsetting the balance of the universe. While it will do nothing as serious as bring the universe to the end, it allows beings, like the one following you, Death, to move about worlds freely. And has allowed us, with the help of the Great Whale to bring you here."

"Morjidza is the last of a dying breed," added Time, "When he dies, the worlds will heal, just as everything does after a hurt."

"_Wait a minute,"_ started Kalas, as Darkness's explanation produces new as many new questions as it solved, _"You said the Whale had something to do with bringing us here?"_

Water laughed, "You have many questions," she said, "That is understandable. And we have plenty of time for explanations. As for the Whale, when your airship fell into the Ocean, he came to save you. He knows of us, and with his powers, sent you here. Because, the Whale is, after all, a god."

Kalas fell silent, and Allyr sensed that he was somehow disturbed by this news. Though she could not tell why.

"As you seek to kill Morjidza," said Light, "And he has done so much wrong, we will help you defeat him."

"As you Kalas, already know," started Time. Neither Kalas nor Allyr were really surprised that The Six knew their names, "Morjidza is not human."

Allyr glared over at her Guardian, who now looked slightly guilty under her angry gaze. "When did you fail to let me on in _this_ secret?" said Allyr, clearly angry, thought doing a reasonable job at keeping it at a minimum, or at least at not going postal right away, "Or are you taking to habit to not tell me important things like this?"

"_Um…"_

"Cough it up. Why didn't you tell me?"

"_I… I didn't think you'd believe me."_

Allyr was about to retort when she really thought about it. She decided that she probably would not have believed Kalas if he had told her. "I'm sorry," she said, a little sheepishly.

"_Don't worry about it."_ He said, _"Now you know, that's what's important, right?"_

They both suddenly became aware that The Six had been watching them intently through this whole short conversation. "At least they have not attempted to harm one another," commented Fire, "That is good. We have seen Guardians or their partners reject the other. I can assure you, it is not a pleasant sight."

"And they trust each other so much," said Time, more to himself than to any other, "I think, the only time I have seen this sort of trust was between Sagi and-"

"Do you still wish to learn how to defeat your enemy?" asked Air. Kalas and Allyr nodded. "Good," said Air, "Morjidza _was_ once human. Many years ago, he heard of a place called the Lava Caves, a place where an ancient power was said to sleep. Lured by the rumors of power, he went to the Lava Caves, and meditated there for forty days. There, the power of Malpercio bent, warped, and twisted him. He has become a servant of the god, a puppet for Malpercio and his will. When Malpercio died, Morjidza's only aim became to avenge his fallen master. And to do that, he had to slay his master's killer." Air looked down at Kalas, "You, my friend, were killed only for that purpose. To avenge the death of the fallen god."

"_I _knew _why he killed me," _said Kalas, sounding a little irritated.

"So you must be careful, to never underestimate your opponent." Said Light, apparently ignoring Kalas's remark, "When the time comes, fight him as you would Malpercio, if the god was resurrected."

_A lot of good that'll do us,_ thought Allyr sarcastically.

"The world is still spinning," said Time, "And we cannot stand still long. I imagine you wish to return to your mission?"

"Yes," said Kalas and Allyr at the same time. They wanted nothing more than to get back to a place where other stuff existed.

"Good," said Time.

"There is one last thing you must know," said Air, "Tell me: How often has a pair like you, ever played both roles?"

Neither Kalas nor Allyr had thought about that. How many others _had_ been in a situation similar to theirs, being cast in both roles?

"None," said Fire, when Kalas and Allyr failed to come up with an answer, "Your situation is unique. Never before has a pair been as you are now. Guarded and Guardian both, that is something special. Take heed, as this will no doubt affect you when this is over and done. We do not know how, but as long as you keep your trust in one another, all shall be well."

"Now," said all six at the same time, "Return to your home and your quest!"

Then before either could react, the ground seemed to vanish from beneath Kalas and Allyr. With cries of surprise and terror they began to fall into a black endless pit. They fell, hoping that they would stop falling, and yet hoping that they would never hit the bottom. They kept on falling…

…And falling…

…_Falling_…

_

* * *

_

...Not the most inspired ending/chapter ever, but that's good enough for me.

And this is the last time I'm going to have any flashbacks in the beginning! It's going to be an interesting change, jumping right into the story and not a flashback.

So please, review. Every single one is much appreciated.


	17. Blizzard Winds

Okay... next chapter. Oh, and if you haven't guessed from the flashbacks from previous chapters, I've expanded Wazn's palace (The name of which I couldn't spell on my own to save my life.) Simple 'cuz if it were a real place it would be bigger. And yes, I cheat here too. So, now that I've got that down...

Disclaimer: Have I ever owned Baten Kaitos or it's characters or locations? No. Do I currently own it? No. Will I ever own it? Probably not.

* * *

Chapter XVI: Blizzard Winds 

As Allyr began to slowly fade back into consciousness, she became aware that she felt very cold, but she could not figure out why.

_"__Allyr,"_

Allyr stirred slightly, trying to recognize the voice that was calling out to her.

_"__Allyr, wake up."_

She opened her eyes. "Kalas?" she said, sitting up, "Where are you?"

_"__Right here,"_ he said simply, _"Are you okay?"_

"…Yeah," said Allyr. _Falling unconscious is getting really, _really _old,_ she thought somewhat bitterly. She felt like she had hit her head on something hard, with a slight throbbing pain on the back of her skull, but at least she was alive. And no one was trying to kill her. That was good. She started to look around, and with a jolt, realized where she and Kalas now were.

Allyr had been lying in a small alley between two buildings. Both the buildings, and the ground on which Allyr had been lying on were made of a bright blue ice. It was snowing a little, and the snowflakes fell down to earth lazily, as if they had all the time in the world, which, as snowflakes generally do not have to worry about rush hour and tight schedules, is probably true. Kalas and Allyr were in Cursa, the capital of Wazn.

Allyr stood up somewhat shakily. "Looks like The Six did something helpful," she commented to no one in particular, "We're right where we're supposed to be."

_"__But we don't know how much time has elapsed since the airship crashed,"_ pointed out Kalas, whom Allyr noted no longer had any visible shape as he had back in the nexus, spectral or otherwise, _"We could have been gone for days or weeks."_

Allyr sighed, her breath forming a faint white mist as it left her mouth, "You got a point," she admitted, "Let's just check around, and hope no one decided to look too close and figure out that I'm not from around here."

Allyr quickly searched her pockets, and with a sigh of relief, pulled out a deck of Magnus. Melodia had given it to her when she had left Mira. Allyr was immensely grateful that it had not been lost when the _Noon Star_ crashed. She quickly rifled through it, until she found a particular Magnus. Melodia had given Allyr a quick lesson on invoking Magnus before she had left, and she prayed silently that she remembered it. With a flash of light the Magnus was invoked. Allyr grinned, pleased with herself. _"So you've figured it out,"_ said Kalas, his voice suggesting a grin.

The Magnus had been containing a dark red cloak, which now Allyr threw around her shoulders to keep her warm, and to hide her modern clothing, which she still wore. "Yeah, I got it down," said Allyr, momentarily struggling with the little brass clip at her neck, "So, let's get going."

She walked out of the alley at a brisk pace silently praying that no one would notice her. She had her hood up to conceal her face, which she also hoped would make her less noticeable, rather than more suspicious. As soon as she stepped out from between the buildings, she noticed that there were fewer people out on the street than there had been when she had last been to Cursa. Not only that, but they seemed anxious, and judging from the looks on their faces as they passed, they wanted to get off of the streets as fast as possible. They were probably acting this because Morjidza now had control of the island, and was probably not as kind to the people as Xelha had been.

Allyr walked through the city in the direction of the palace, which loomed over the city like a giant monolith of ice. Somewhere Allyr had to find a window she could climb into. She knew that if she ran right in through the front door she would be caught easily and quickly. She had to sneak in. She walked around the perimeter of the palace desperately searching for a window she could climb into.

Eventually, she found a second-story window that looked promising. It was in the back of the palace, where few people were. Allyr saw no one in the window, or heard any voices, which was a good sign. Admittedly, actually climbing the slippery, icy, vertical wall _to_ the window was going to be a problem.

_"__I'll catch you if you fall,"_ said Kalas as Allyr looked up at the distant window.

"Shut up," she said shortly, rifling through her Magnus deck. Taking out a pair of daggers, Allyr took a deep breath to steady her nerves. Then she trust one knife into the icy wall. She took the other and thrust it right above the first. Eventually, she began to make her way up, by periodically thrusting another knife into the ice, and using the old ones, which she left thrust into the wall, as footholds. After a long, unsteady journey, she got close enough to the window to touch the edge. She quickly scrabbled over the edge before her makeshift hand and footholds gave way. Admittedly, two lines of knives sticking out of the wall of the palace would be a bit of a giveaway, but she hoped no one would find them soon. As Allyr fell gratefully into the room, she started to relax. At least one part of her plan had not blow up in her face.

"Hey, who are you? What are you doing here?"

Or maybe it had.

Allyr looked up at a man who had apparently been sleeping in one corner of the room until Allyr had literally dropped in. He was wearing what looked like a uniform of some sort: A black tunic over a white long sleeved shirt and black trousers. He was holding a crossbow, a loaded crossbow.

The world seemed to completely freeze for a second, as Allyr stared up at the deadly bolt stilling in the crossbow, ready to be fired at any minute. Then the world seemed to explode in a rush of movement. The man fired the crossbow, just as Allyr rolled to one side. The black bolt whistled above Allyr and embedded itself into the ice of the far wall. As Allyr stood up she grabbed the first Magnus she could grab, and simultaneously invoking it, and throwing it at her attacker. The bottle of rice wine materialized partway through the air, and collided solidly with the man's face, shattering at it did so, spraying clear, alcoholic liquid everywhere.

The man yelped and dropped the crossbow, and began to claw at his face, trying to get the wine and glass out of his eyes. The next card Allyr grabbed materialized into a long sword. With a quick thrust it was all over. The man's body slumped to the ground, and Allyr stood panting, realizing that from now on she had to be on her guard, and _stay_ on her guard.

_"__That was _too_ close…"_ said Kalas, looking down at the dead body.

"Tell me about it," said Allyr, kneeling down by the body, realizing that now she was in a kill or be killed situation. She was not bothered by death, she had seen plenty of it in her years as Kalas's Guardian, and she was willing to do anything to save her friends.

Provided they were still alive.

"Right," said Allyr to herself as she began to unbutton the man's tunic, "Just keep it up, and we'll all get out of this alive and in one piece…"

* * *

Xelha did not know for how long she sat in the cell since Morjidza had captured her. It had felt like a thousand years, at any rate. She sat in her cell, gagged, and her feet and hands tied up. She could see Corellia sitting in the cell opposite hers, but the queen of Anuenue was also bound and gagged, making communication impossible. 

It had felt like years to Xelha, sitting in that icy, cold cell. She was scared, more than she wanted to admit to herself. She did not know if her friends and husband were okay, or even alive. She did not know what had become of her homeland or her people. The only time she saw anyone else, other than the silent Corellia was the occasional guard, clearly one of Morjidza's followers, come by to feed the prisoners. It had been bleak to say the least.

So Xelha was surprised when two men, once more wearing the black uniforms marking them as Morjidza's followers, came to her cell, unlocked the door and walked in.

The first of the two said to the other, "Yep, she's the one."

The second man grinned at Xelha, taking out a knife, "You're a very special little girl, you know that?" he said tauntingly as he cut the ropes at her feet and helped her stand up. Corellia watched all of this in anxious silence.

"Morjidza wants to see you," said the first man, as the second led Xelha out of her cell, "Ain't that special?" continued the first, clearly enjoying himself, "I'm sure the pair of you are going to have a nice little chat in a minute."

Xelha was not sure if she would have preferred to have just stayed in her cell.

* * *

Approximately five minutes later, Allyr was walking down the halls of the palace in the uniform the man she had killed had worn. She was hoping that, as long as she had it on, no one would look twice and notice the hole in the tunic where Allyr's sword had torn it. In fact, her safety now rested on the inattention of others. Now she was beginning to think that maybe delaying this whole thing for a day might have been the better idea, rather than to hit the ground running. 

_"__Don't worry,"_ said Kalas reassuringly to Allyr as he sensed her anxiety and discomfort, _"You look fine. A bit stressed, and kind of pale… but fine! And you want to turn right here."_ He added quickly.

Allyr stopped and asked simply, "Why?"

If Kalas could smile, he would have. _"Because that's where the dungeons are."_

Allyr blinked. "This place has dungeons?"

_"__Sure,"_ said Kalas, _"Just because you didn't see them the other times you were here doesn't mean they don't exist. Xelha gave me a grand tour after we married, just so I didn't get lost. And besides, that's where we'll find the others…"_ He trailed off, not wanting to add 'if they're alive' at the end of his sentence.

Without another word, Allyr began to walk quickly (She walked, because running would have attracted the attention of those she passed.) down the halls, directed by Kalas. After what felt like years, she reached a pair of heavy double doors, made of the blue ice of which the whole building had been constructed. The heavy doors opened surprisingly easy, the hinges moving easily and quietly as if they had just recently been oiled. Allyr walked in to what she always pictured a dungeon to look like, if it were made entirely of ice.

It was a single long hallway, with rows of cells on either side of the hallway. The bars were all made of ice, as were the shackles piled in some corners. Forgetting caution, fueled by the hope that she would see her friends again, Allyr bolted down the hall, glancing into each cell, looking for a face she recognized. Halfway down the hall she finally skidded to a halt, happiness flooding her as she finally saw someone she knew.

"Gibari!" she shouted, walking up to the cell bars, "It's so good to see you!"

The big fisherman looked up, but even with the gag he wore, it was clear that he was surprised to see Allyr. It suddenly dawned on Allyr that Gibari would not have the faintest inkling as to who she was. He had never seen her with a body; to him she had always been just a voice. A problem she had not forseen. "Wait a minute," she said, pulling out a battle Magnus (A flaming sword to make the coming job easier.) from a pouch at her waist, "I'll get you out then I promise I'll explain _everything_."

After about a minute of whacking with a sword that she had invoked from the Magnus, the cell's lock broke, the ice shards falling to the frozen floor. Allyr threw open the door, still holding the sword, she cut at Gibari's bindings and untied the gag from around his mouth.

"Who are you?" he said as soon as the gag was out of his mouth, "You look like one of them."

"Oh, you probably mean this," said Allyr, indicating the stolen uniform, "I stole this. And just as soon as I free everyone else, I'll explain everything. That way I don't have to repeat myself a thousand times." She stood up and walked to the cell opposite Gibari's. Inside was king Ladekahn, his right arm hanging at a bizarre angle; someone had not even bothered to tie it up. It looked broken.

Another hacking of the lock, more ties cut, another gag removed, and Allyr tore a sleeve off her stolen uniform to make a makeshift splint for the king's injured arm. The king let her do this all in silence. He was either curious or so confused he was beyond arguing. "Can you stand your Majesty?" asked Allyr as she finished the splint.

"Yes, I can," said Ladekahn, standing up, looking grateful for the splint, if a bit wary of Allyr.

Allyr continued this cycle, breaking locks, untying gags, and cutting ropes. Until she eventually had everyone freed. She counted as they all stood in the hall, apparently waiting for an explanation from her. They all looked awful. Most looked almost starved, and some looked ill. Allyr shook her head to dislodge the morbid thoughts from her mind. Just stick to the present, and take it one step at a time. Let's see… there were all the rules of the five islands: Ladekahn, Rodolfo, Corellia, Calbren (Though he looked rather ill). There were also the four witches, Glamys, Catranne, Kodelle, and Barnette. Then there were her friends: Gibari, Lyude (Who judging from the gold circlet he now wore, was probably now the emperor of Alfard. Go figure.), Savyna, Mizuti (Who even mask less looked impassive.). So minus Kalas, who was now playing the role of Annoying Voice In Allyr's Head, that meant… someone was missing.

"Where's Xelha?" said Allyr, dread beginning to grip her, like a pair of giant talons digging into her back.

"You still haven't given us an explanation," said Rodolfo ungratefully, "Just who are you?"

"Xelha was taken out of her cell by two men about fifteen minutes ago," said Corellia, drowning out Rodolfo. Then pointing added, "They went of in that direction."

Allyr paled, and Kalas began to silently panic. "Okay," started Allyr, deciding to summarize things quickly, "I don't have a lot of time. I'm Allyr, Kalas's old Guardian Spirit, and I'm going to get you out of here." Allyr walked down the hall, and finding a particular, unlocked cell, walked in, "I heard about a secret passage of sorts for the Ice Queens of Wazn that should be used if the palace ever fell to an enemy," she explained, as the others gathered behind her, and she began to run her hands over the smooth wall of the cell, "It's supposed to stay a secret within the royal family, but right now secrecy isn't what we should worry about. I found out how to open it, I just have to find it now… Here!"

Under her palm, the crest of Wazn glowed momentarily, before a section of the wall vanished, leading down to a dark hall leading downward, deeper into the ground. What a secret passage should look like. "Just get going," said Allyr anxiously, "And take this," she added, taking out a Magnus.

This whole escape plan had been Melodia's idea. Kalas had told Melodia and Allyr about an exit that Xelha had shown him, to use in face of emergencies. No palace was complete without a secrete passage. But, to the people of Wazn, as protecting their queen, and therefore the Ocean, was the most important task in the world it stood to reason that there would be a way for the Ice Queen to flee if ever an emergency occurred. (_A fat lot of good that did what Morjidza decided to take over the world,_ Thought Allyr when she heard about this.)

Gibari took the Magnus Allyr gave him. "It's a tracking device," she explained, "Given courtesy of some buddies in Alfard. The tunnel here ends outside the boundaries of the city, right where the Ice Cliffs begin. Just wait out there and an airship should pick you up, provided you have that Magnus with you." Admittedly, she had no idea whether the rescue would actually arrive, but at least if she smuggled her friends out of the palace than they stood half a chance, even if they were unarmed. Admittedly, if the rescue that Melodia had promised never showed up, they would not stand a chance in the Ice Cliffs, to either freeze to death as Kalas had, or to be killed by one of the monsters roaming the Cliffs.

Gibari, and all the others for that matter, looked skeptical, very skeptical. "Let's put it this way," said Allyr, "Would you rather be sitting in your cells with no hope of escape?"

"But what about Xelha?" piped up Mizuti, "And Kalas not be here! The Great Mizuti won't leave without Mizuti's friends!"

Allyr suddenly felt very uncomfortable, as if the whole world had suddenly turned to look at here when she did not want anyone to look. She began to feel slightly envious of Kalas; at least _he_ had the advantage of being completely _invisible_.

"Mizuti," said Allyr, trying to hide her rising panic, and hoping that she would be able to lie convincingly, "I'll get Xelha, _and_ find Kalas, but right now all of you need to get out of here!"

"Allyr promise Kalas and Xelha come back?" asked Mizuti, giving Allyr a look of absolute trust, "Safe and sound?"

"I promise," said Allyr without hesitation, "I'll bring them _both_ back. And they'll _both_ be just fine."

"Then the Great Mizuti has no doubt!" she said cheerfully, "If Allyr says they be coming back safe and sound, that Kalas and Xelha have nothing to worry about!" She immediately bolted for the dark hole in the wall, "What be everyone waiting for?" said Mizuti. She, along with Allyr, shepherded the others into the dark tunnel. As soon as Allyr could no longer see any of her friends down in the tunnel, Allyr bolted off in the direction Corellia had indicated, very aware that she had just made a promise that she would not be able to keep.

* * *

Xelha had struggled against her captors every inch of the way, hindering their progress as they went. The first captor held onto Xelha's right arm, the second her left. Their patience was thin as a leaf. 

"You little bitch!" snarled one, as Xelha dug her heels into the floor once more, and began to writhe like a snake in her captors' arms, "Stop struggling," hissed the first captor, "Or we'll-"

"We can't hurt her!" protested the second captor, "If we hurt her Morjidza will be furious!"

"Shut up!" growled the first at his companion, "Now if _you_ put your back into it, we could actually make some godsdamned progress!"

"Hey!" shouted a third voice from somewhere behind Xelha, "Need a hand?"

Xelha turned her head to see another one of Morjidza's many minions. It was a woman, just a year or so older than Xelha herself. She had long brown hair down to her waist and bright brown eyes. She smiled at the other two nameless thugs, and asked pleasantly, "Is she giving you problems?"

"Yes," muttered the second, "Morjidza himself wants to see her, but we can't get her anywhere!"

"Mm…" said the third, "That is a problem. Let me help you."

The newcomer pulled out a Magnus, and with a flash of light became a sword. "Hey, what are you doing?" asked the second, sounding scared, "We're not supposed to kill her."

"I won't kill Xelha," said the third. She slew the second captor with a quick thrust of her sword.

The first looked at the third with wide frightened eyes, as the newcomer pulled her sword out of the second man's corpse, "What are you-"

The third raised her sword so the point was only an inch from the first captor's neck, "Let her go," said the third, very slowly, "Right now. I don't want to have to kill more people than I have to." He did as he was told. Xelha collapsed to the ground, trying to figure out if she was saved or about to be condemned to a worse fate. "Xelha," said the newcomer, not taker her eyes of off the first captor. "Are you okay?"

Xelha's muffled voice came through, sounding a bit like a confirmation, "Ah damn," said the newcomer, "I forgot about the gag." She lowered her sword. The first captor bolted down the hall, shouted at the top of his lungs.

Silver white light surrounded the newcomer's body, and she raised the sword, which now along with her right hand began to glow with a dark light. "I am Darkness, hear my Voice!" she shouted. The running man suddenly found himself to be sinking in several feet of dark mud, as little lights danced above his head. He screamed in terror, just as the newcomer finished her spell with a shout of "DEMONS OF DARKNESS!" With a bolt of lighting striking the man as he stood in the mud and a flash of light, both the man and the strange mud hole vanished. The newcomer sank to her knees, panting for breath, sweat dripping down her face, apparently completely exhausted.

"Damn…" panted the newcomer, "Everyone… within a hundred feet… will have heard that…" She turned to Xelha, who backed away in fear. "Don't… worry," said the newcomer, picking up her sword, which she had dropped. Xelha eyed the weapon like a deer regarding a hunter's gun. "I'm… here to… help you." Panted the newcomer, hoping that she sounded reassuring, "I know you… don't recognize me but… I'm Allyr. Kalas's old… Guardian."

Xelha's yellow eyes widened as if in realization, and sat still while Allyr cut the ropes at her wrists and untied the gag. "Are you okay?" asked Allyr.

"Y… yes," said Xelha, still clearly shocked, "But… how did you use that Spell when you don't have a Guardian? And, you're not bound to Kalas anymore, so… How?"

"I _was_ a Guardian, so I can use my old powers," lied Allyr quickly. In truth, she had never even tried to use her old powers before Kalas had reentered her life, "But you need to hurry," she added, "Morjidza or one of his grunts will find us soon, and you need to get out of here."

"How?" asked Xelha, "We're deep inside the palace."

"You remember that old escape tunnel in the dungeons?" asked Allyr, "Go through that, the others and a rescue should be waiting for you there."

"But what about you?" asked Xelha.

"Just go!" said Allyr as she heard footsteps approaching, "You need to leave _now_! I'll hold them off and follow when I can get away. Understood?"

Xelha nodded and stood up. She looked back at the ex-Spirit, worry in her eyes, "Just GO NOW!" shouted Allyr, "How can I forgive myself if you die? I was your Guardian once remember? You're still my charge, and right now I'll telling you to RUN!" Xelha ran, not looking back to see how Allyr was.

Allyr turned back in the direction of the approaching footsteps. She looked down at the sword she was holding, one which she had randomly grabbed when she had freed Xelha. It was a long sword, with only a few scratches on the shiny steel blade. It had a beautiful crescent-shaped cross hilt. "Well," she said looking up, "Now's as good as any time to die."

_"__Don't talk like that,"_ said Kalas, now that Xelha was far out of earshot,_"We're going to get out of this."_

"Thanks for your support," said Allyr, "Though something tells me I'm not going to be on that airship with the others when they escape."

Finally, the ones making the footsteps rounded the corner and ran into the icy hall in which Allyr now stood. It was three of Mojridza's grunts, each with a loaded crossbow, and the man himself. Morjidza looked at Allyr, though surprised that the woman from his dreams had materialized inside his palace, hid his shock, and covered it with a wicked grin. He and his grunts stopped about ten feet from where Allyr stood. Allyr felt Kalas's hate burn suddenly like a sudden fire. "So," Morjidza started, his voice level and cool, giving Allyr an appraising look, "You're the one who's been giving me all that trouble lately. I had expected you to look more threatening in person."

"Shut up!" snapped Allyr, sounding more confident and brave than she felt, "Don't you dare come any closer!"

"You were once Kalas's Guardian, were you not?" continued Morjidza, ignoring the barely concealed threat, "It's been hard to get that particular piece of information, but I'm sure now I can put it to good use." He smiled at her, "I'd hate to break it to you, but your friend is dead. His bones are collecting frost somewhere in the Ice Cliffs. I'm sure you wish to join your beloved charge." He stepped toward Allyr.

"Stay away!" shouted Allyr venomously, sounding tougher than she really felt. All she knew about swordplay came from watching Kalas all those years, and what support the little voice in her head (i.e. Kalas) could give. That, and a lot of luck brought her this far, but if Kalas could not kill Mojirdza, it was unlikely she would all alone. It did not help that she was shaken from her three kills, it had been so easy it frightened her. Morjidza stopped when Allyr shouted at him, but his minions raised their crossbows, ready to fire their bolts at her if Allyr attempted to harm their master, "Don't you _dare_ come any nearer!" Allyr continued, "Or I'll burn you to a crisp!"

Morjidza held up a hand to steady his men. He was not afraid of Allyr. Besides, he had been promised victory by a being that could tell only truths. What did he have to fear from this _girl _that could barely use the sword she held so awkwardly?

He raised his other hand, light playing around his fingers like fire licking at a burning log, "You can, and I imagine you will," said Morjidza, smiling, "I imagine you would do a lot to protect your friends. But you can't do that without a Guardian, now can you?"

After that, Allyr and Kalas remembered nothing.

* * *

Seeing as there's no way I'll avoid a beating/bludgeoning/attack/mauling/assult or some other kind of attack or injury for this chapter's cliffhanger by an angry mob/first person to get thier hands on something pointy, I'll be reading all of your reviews from the bomb shelter. So, yeah, please review. And so, off to safety I go... (-Runs off to bomb shelter-) 


	18. Lost Hope

(-Sticks head out of bomb shelter door-) That wasn't too bad...

Disclaimer: Must I say this again? Ah well, I'll do it because copyright laws scare the crap outta me: I don't own Baten Kaitos, Namco does.

* * *

Chapter XVII: Lost Hope 

Xelha's footsteps echoed oddly in the crudely carved tunnel leading from the palace to the Ice Cliffs. All the time questions buzzed in Xelha's mind like a horde of angry wasps. What her savior really Allyr? How did she get into the palace without being caught? Why was she wearing the uniform of Morjidza's followers? How did she know about this escape route?

Xelha heard voices up ahead and saw a light not far at the end of the tunnel. Silently praying that something horrible was not awaiting her there, Xelha broke into a sprint, running with the speed of someone motivated onward by desperation. As the light neared she could feel the cold draft, and see little snowflakes drifting lazily around the entrance to a cave, which Xelha was now running out of. Ahead of her, sitting in the two-foot deep snow, was a gold airship, with a wingspan of about thirty to forty feet. The engine hummed softly, like the purring of a giant cat. It was a smaller commercial model, meant to hold about twenty people, but if this was the rescue that Allyr had promised Xelha, that should be enough.

As she neared the airship, panting like a dog on a hot summer day, a pair of familiar faces poked from around the doorframe leading to the interior of the airship.

"Yo," said Folon, his blue face twisted into a not unpleasant smile. He winked at Xelha, "Long time no see, eh?"

"You comin' on or not?" asked Ayme, her arms folded across her chest, the wind playing with her bright magenta hair.

Xelha, finally deciding that she was saved, ran onto the airship. As she ran up the steps to the door on the side of the airship's hull, she craned her neck to look inside, to see if her friends were there. And indeed they were. The walls were covered in pipes, as if they were the veins carrying the blood of a great animal. As Xelha entered the airship, she saw Savyna was leaning against one of the walls. The huntress looked up and spotted Xelha first. "At least you're alive," said Savyna with a nod. "It's good to see you again."

"Xelha!" came the cries of everyone else in the airship: Her friends, the witches, and the island leaders. They all looked tired and physically worn down, but the prospect of freedom made them cheerful. She scanned the crowd of escapees, trying to find Kalas. She did not find him.

"Where's Kalas?" she asked aloud when she noticed his absence, anxious for his safety.

There was an uncomfortable silence. "He's not here," said Savyna, her face expressionless, "Supposedly, Allyr was supposed to bring him here with you."

"Well, we can't stay here much longer," said Ayme simply, "Or else we risk getting caught. And I for one don't want to get thrown into a jail cell."

"But what about Kalas?" pleaded Xelha turning to Ayme, "We can't just leave him! Or Allyr!"

Ayme shrugged, "Got a better idea?"

"Bird-boy can take care of himself," said Folon, looking impatient, "Right now I just want to get the hell off this ice heap before a certain nut job finds us."

Xelha bit her lip. Unfortunately, Ayme and Folon had a point; they could not just sit here waiting too long. Otherwise they would just end up back in the cells, probably with the new additions of Ayme, Folon and Allyr.

"I'm not waiting any longer," declared Ayme, after a long silence as empty as a vacuum, "We're getting outta here." She walked off in the general direction of the cockpit, Folon following close behind. Xelha watched them go, her face expressionless.

"Allyr promise that everyone come back safe…" said Mizuti to herself, looking down at her bright yellow clogs, "Allyr promise Great Mizuti…"

"Cheer up Mizuti!" said Gibari, giving the sorceress a pat on the back, "Like Folon said, Kalas can take care of himself, and if he's with Allyr, there's nothing that'll get in their way. At least not for long."

"But she promised the Great Mizuti…"

"Just that they'd come back safe," said Gibari, "And she'll do that. She'll just be a bit um… Late."

"Or she could have failed."

Everyone in the room turned to Savyna when she said this. "Savyna!" said Xelha, "Don't say things like that! Allyr and Kalas _will_ be just fine!"

"We have to be prepared for the worst," said Savyna, her face and voice lacking emotion, "We can't afford to underestimate our enemy here. If Morjidza or one of his men see Allyr and or Kalas clearly trying to escape, they will try to recapture or kill them." Savyna looked over at Xelha, "I know how you must feel Xelha," said the huntress, though not unkindly, "But if one or both of them has become a fatality in this war, you'll have to be prepared to accept that."

"Now don't talk like that Savyna!" said Gibari, "Have a little optimism here!"

"Besides," added Lyude, "They could just as easily be alive, and possibly in hiding."

Savyna sighed, "It's not as if I want them dead," she said, "But at least pessimists are never disappointed."

"Of course they be alive!" piped up Mizuti suddenly, "Even Kalas not stupid enough to get killed!"

Savyna opened her mouth apparently to say that it was not a matter of intelligence, when Ladekahn, whom the five friends had completely forgotten with everyone else who had not yet spoken, said, "We should keep our minds away from such morbid thoughts. Lyude was right; they could just as well be alive as dead. Either way, we should be grateful that our own lives have been saved. And if Kalas and his companion have suffered some horrible fate, then we should not let their sacrifice be in vain."

The silence that fell then was filled as the airship's engine roared, and was soon in the air, the transition smooth as velvet. Xelha suddenly wanted to be alone then, she just did not want to share the company of her friends as they felt freedom. She turned from the group standing in the airship's halls and walked off without another word to anyone.

* * *

The Diabolos had been following the gold airship for hours now. It longed to attack the ship, to make it fall from the sky, but it had been specifically instructed to leave it alone. Just follow and return when it reached its destination. For the Diabolos, that meant no victims today, and it had to actually _resist_ its bloodlust, something it had never needed to do before. It hissed angrily as it thought about the task it had been forced to undergo. 

The Diabolos did as its master instructed, it followed the airship at a distance, not taking its red eye off the ship for a second. For the Diabolos, the airship held an allure similar to a starving person looking at a set banquet table, heaped with piles of food. But once more, the Diabolos had to resist the temptation to attack the airship.

After several hours, the airship reached its destination and began to descend. The Diabolos stopped and hovered, beating its large gray wings rhythmically as it spotted the vehicle's destination: Mira.

It had done what it had been sent to do, now to return to Wazn and its master. As it turned around it spotted something below it that interested it. The Diabolos had been flying over the Ocean, and down by the rough surface of the water there was... The Diabolos had to squint its eye to see it better… A little blue light? Even with the monster's keen eyesight, it was hard to make out what the little light was. Whatever it was, it was moving quickly, for something that seemed so insubstantial, even from this distance.

The Diabolos chattered something in its own language irritably, what should it care about little strange lights anyway? It was irritable that it had been denied prey, and wanted nothing more than to get this whole damn mission over with. With a beat of its great gray wings, it changed direction and headed back to Wazn, back to its master.

* * *

The Diabolos was not the only one intently watching the gilded airship as it landed at the airship port at Balancoire. Half a mile away, sitting at the base of a tree where the forest began, sat an old man. His hair and six-inch beard were pure white. He sat at the base of his tree with his legs crossed, a walking stick made of an old, polished, gnarled branch rested across his knees. Resting his chin on his withered hands, he looked up at the gold belly of the airship with bright vivid blue eyes as it landed in the nation's capitol. His clothes looked as if they had once been very well kept and very expensive, but it had long since been reduced to shapeless gray rags that almost swamped the old man's thin frame. 

As the airship landed, he quickly took something out from a breast pocket that looked like it was on the verge of falling off. What he took out was a silver pocket watch. A fine chain fell from the top of the watch, faintly catching the setting sun's last light. The silver watch had a detailed carving of an eagle with its wings spread wide on one side, and on the back of the watch, was a whale breaking the surface of the water. It looked very expensive.

The old man flipped the watch open and squinted at the watch face. The watch was clearly broken and made improperly. There was only one little black hand that did not move, and only the number twelve was on the face, and only black smudges marked where the other numbers should be, as if the watch maker had decided to rub off the numbers while the ink was still wet. The old man started at the watch face for a minute, then tilted it to one side, then the other, as if he were holding a compass, and wanted to make sure the little hand was pointing north. Right now it was pointing at the blotch where normally the number four would be.

After gleaning whatever information he wanted from the broken watch, he closed it, put it back in the pocket, and looked back over at the city.

"Ah, well, I wasn't expecting anything good," muttered the old man. Then, using his walking stick as a support, he shakily stood up. "Time to get me involved in this mess," he muttered again, "These people can't seem to get themselves out of their own problems. Oh well, young people now a days _do_ need a push in the right direction anyways. And they are only human after all."

* * *

The giant gold airship was immediately the center of attention for everyone living in Balancoire. Ships from Alfard were not commonplace, and were therefore an oddity, and therefore good gossip fodder. Before the escapees onboard could disembark several Miran knights had to get the crowd to dissipate enough to let the escapees through. The ruckus produced when Duke Calbren got off was loud enough to be heard half a mile away. As soon as all of the escapees had made it within the relative safety of the manor, they began to relax. 

"You woulda thought that the world was about to end with that crowd," commented Gibari.

"It still might," said queen Corellia sadly, "We haven't won the war yet."

Right then Melodia made her appearance, running down the quick flight of stairs. Then right as she reached the bottom she stopped. Would these people trust her as readily as Allry had? Then she spotted Calbren among the small crowd. Fears forgotten, she ran to him and embraced him tightly, "Grandfather!" she shouted, oblivious to everything else, "You're alive!"

"Melodia!" came Calbren's weak reply, "It's good to see you too."

"So… what be next?" asked Mizuti to the room at large after a pause.

"What else is there to do but wait?" said Ladekahn, shrugging. He winced as he got a stab of pain in his broken arm for his efforts.

"There but be something Great Mizuti can do!" persisted the sorceress, "Allyr and Kalas still need Great Mizuti's help!"

"They didn't come back?" said Melodia. A quick scan around the room confirmed at the two were indeed not there.

"They fell behind." Said Ayme blandly as she noticed Melodia looking around the small crowd, "Don't worry, Kalas is too stubborn to get himself caught."

"But we won't cry if he did get himself caught." Added Folon so only he and Ayme could hear.

Lyude sighed, "Like King Ladekahn said," Lyude commented, "There's not much else we can do but wait now."

* * *

That night, all was quite. The escapees slept in the guesthouse adjacent to the manor, so soundly that not even a bomb could wake any of them. The whole world was completely silent, as if everyone living had suddenly vanished from the face of the earth. All was peace, and silence, as sweet and innocent as a lullaby. 

Then somewhere within that building, a woman screamed.

* * *

In short: Please don't hurt me for the short chapter and the second cliffhanger. (If you really want to call it a cliffhanger, personally I think it was too obscure, but that's just me.) Please review, and off to safety I go... 


	19. Ghost Of A Broken Promise

Disclaimer: Guess what I'm gonna say?... YES! I do not, in fact, own Baten Kaitos.

* * *

Chapter XVIII: Ghost Of A Broken Promise 

Xelha would never know exactly what woke her that night. There was no creak of hinges as a door opens. No groan as the old window was opened. No rustle of cloth. No soft breathing. Nothing. The room in which Xelha slept was completely quiet, as if she had gone deaf and had not yet noticed. But something woke her. She was lying on her side when she opened her eyes to see the wall to which the bed she lay on was pushed against. _I wonder what time it is._ She thought tiredly.

"_Xelha?"_

The voice made her stiffen. The sound was not like a sound at all; it came right into her mind, forgetting her ears entirely. It reminded her of Allyr when she had been a Guardian. When she spoke the sound of her voice also bypassed her ears and went right into her mind. Except now the voice sounded distant, and echoed, as if the speaker were standing at the opposite end of a large tunnel. But the worse part of it was that she recognized the voice that had just spoken.

"_Xelha? Are you awake?"_

She lay perfectly still, hoping that if she did not react, the voice would go away. _It can't be him,_ she thought desperately, _That voice can't be him. It just can't be…_

"_Xelha, please if you're awake say something. I'm begging you!"_

She rolled over, and finally spotted the speaker, her fears confirmed absolutely. Standing next to her bed, looking down at her with sapphire eyes was Kalas, exactly as she remembered him. Except his body was translucent, as if he were made of colored smoke.

It was a ghost.

Xelha sat bolt upright and pressed herself against the wall, her legs turning to jelly at the sight of the ghost. _"Xelha,"_ it said, looking confused, _"What's wrong?"_

"You… you can't be real…" said Xelha in a small, terrified voice. Her Magnus deck was lying on the bedside table, but she did not want to get herself that close to the ghost to reach her weapons. Even so, she did not think that many of her spells would be able to harm a ghost.

"_Why do you think that?"_ asked the ghost, looking hurt, _"Please Xelha, it's me, Kalas."_

"I don't know what you are, but you're not my Kalas!" persisted Xelha, "Just go away and leave me alone! And don't you _dare_ take on that shape _ever_ again!"

The ghost stared at her, shock and anguish mixing on its face. _"Please…"_ pleaded the ghost again, extending a hand toward her, _"Please help me…"_

Xelha screamed. The ghost recoiled as if burned, pain, surprise and a small flash anger in its eyes. Xelha and ghost turned to look at the door as they heard loud footsteps, people no doubt coming to find out what was wrong. The ghost fled, running right through a wall and out into the night. Xelha jumped out of the bed and ran to a window to look out, but could not see the ghost fleeing.

Xelha whirled around as the door slammed open, and two Miran knights, accompanied by Lyude with his gold gun raised, and Savyna, armed with a brass knuckle ran into the room, eyes scanning the room, searching for a hidden assassin. They spotted Xelha, and all four asked at once, "Xelha, what's the matter?"

Xelha rested her back against the wall and slid to her knees. Her whole body shook, as the reality of what had just happened sunk in. The knights, Lyude, and Savyna, realizing there was no immediate danger, lowered their weapons. The latter two walked over to Xelha, concern written clearly on their faces. "It's… it's nothing," said Xelha, though her voice shook and did not sound reassuring to her friends, "It's nothing at all."

"Then why'd you scream?" asked Savyna coolly, her face, as always, betraying none of her feelings, "Tell us Xelha: What happened?"

"It's nothing," repeated Xelha, meekly "Just… leave me alone for a little while, please?"

* * *

Xelha had not been able to sleep after that. The others did leave her alone, but still she could not stop thinking about the ghost that had visited her. As soon as dawn came Xelha left the guesthouse and walked into the city, until she came to a stone wall dividing the cobbled path from the river that ran through the city. Xelha leaned on the brick wall and looked down at the water, hoping to find solace in it. She found none. The more time went by the more certain she felt that she had been wrong about the ghost, that it really had been Kalas, and not a fake. But the thought that Kalas had been reduced to that state, that he had become a mere ghost was unbearable. 

"Pardon me Butterfly," said a voice behind Xelha, "But you seem to be having some difficulty with something?"

Xelha turned to see an old man, leaning on a gnarled branch of a walking stick, wearing shapeless gray rags that looked as if they had once been a part of a suit for someone much bigger than him. His wispy hair and beard were completely white. A salty smell, not unlike the Ocean, hung about the old man like an aura. He looked at Xelha intently, clearly expecting an answer to his question.

"I'm sorry," said Xelha, "What did you call me?"

"Butterfly," said the old man matter-of-factly, "That's what you are, isn't it?"

"Um… I'm afraid I don't quite follow."

The old man sighed, "I didn't expect you to," he said sadly, "But that's not what I'm here for," continued the old man with renewed vigor, "You seem to have problems. Any way I can help?"

"…No I'm afraid not," replied Xelha, "There's nothing you can do. Unless you can wake the dead, or turn back time."

The old man seemed to contemplate this for a second, "Say I can do those things," he said, "Then what?"

Xelha laughed, but there was no humor in it, "You can't do those things," she said simply, "So what's the point of thinking about it?"

"Sure there is Butterfly!" the old man then, with surprising agility for a man his age, leapt up onto the stone divider, sat down lying his walking stick on his knees, and looked intently at Xelha. "Thinking is everything!" he said, "If you thought more about things, you might make some progress! No?"

"Um…"

The old man sighed, "Let's start with something simple then, eh?" he started, "You wouldn't happen to have had any bizarre visitations last night?"

Xelha opened her mouth to tell him about the ghost, but then something held her back. Perhaps it was because she had been living with Kalas for so long, but her suspicions were aroused. "Why do you want to know?"

The old man grinned, "I'm the Dust Eater," he said, "That's what I do."

"Uh… Dust Eater?"

"Exactly!" said the old man, the Dust Eater, "That's really just one of my names. I'm also the Dream Weaver, probably my favorite, Dust Eater, as mentioned, The Guide, kind of boring, Helpful Shadow by one I knew, and Eccentric Old Man, by a good number. You probably won't believe this one, but I'm also the Great Wha-"

"That doesn't tell me anything!" said Xelha exasperatedly.

"Then how about things I'm not?" said the Dust Eater, cocking his head to one side, "I'm not one of you, or one of them. I'm not a concept given flesh. I'm not a vegetarian. And I most certainly not hu-"

"Will you stop that!" said Xelha, "I just figured out that someone I really care about is probably gone forever! Just leave me alone, please…"

The Dust Eater looked offended, "Now see here!" he said, getting off the wall with catlike grace. "You," he jabbed Xelha in the chest with his walking stick, "Are a great fool, you know that? And before you interrupt me, let me finish! There was a time that young people respected their elders and listened to them. Anyway, I'm getting off track again." He started at Xelha hard with his bright blue eyes. Once he was sure she would not interrupt, he continued, "The poor lost soul of your husband visited you last night Butterfly, begging for help, and what did you do? Scream at him! Accuse him of being a fake! Now imagine what that must've felt like for poor little Raven. For shame!" Xelha, sensing the truth in the old man's words, looked down in her feet to hide her blush of embarrassment. The Dust Eater sighed, "Tell ya what Butterfly," he said gently, "I wasn't here just to reprimand you. I know where your husband went, and if I were you, I would go after him quickly."

"Where is he then?" said Xelha, looking up, a desperate look in her face, "Please tell me!"

"Your husband's a Spirit now," explained the Dust Eater, "A creature without a body or a purpose, except when bound to another soul as a protector. Where do you think such lost souls go, Butterfly? Where, in all of Mira, do you think they go?"

It clicked instantly. "Thank you so much!" she quickly embraced the thin old man as if he were her grandfather, than ran off as fast as she could in the direction of the manor, joy filling her body.

The Dust Eater blinked, confused. Then he laughed, a thin wheezy laugh, but not an unkind one. "Oh, you're very welcome Butterfly." He said to the world at large. He looked up at the sky, and the fluffy white clouds drifting by, like fat cats being gently blown across the big blue dome. "My work here is done." Then he walked off whistling a happy tune, as if he had just had the experience of a lifetime.

* * *

Nekton, the Shrine of Spirits. 

It was more or less the way that Xelha remembered it: The large dead-looking trees, with the red orbs bobbing among their branches. The hard ground beneath her feet, covered with large roots. Shadows of monsters flitted at the edge of her vision, but did not appear when she looked directly at them. She held her gold staff in one hand, three spell Magnus in another, in case one of the monsters decided to attack her.

"What are we looking for again?" asked Gibari, confused. Xelha had told her friends to follow her, but had not offered an explanation why.

_How would I tell them Kalas is a Spirit now?_ She had thought. Though by bringing them along, they would find out eventually anyway.

When Xelha did not answer Gibari, he fell silent. "What are you hiding from us Xelha?" asked Savyna, her voice and face hiding her feelings as efficiently as an opaque wall.

"Please tell the Great Mizuti what be happening Xelha," pleaded the sorceress, "The Great Mizuti has a bad bad feeling. An awful premonition. Foresees nothing good. Predicts something horrible!"

Xelha still said nothing. After another five minutes of walking, they emerged into the clearing where Kalas had parted ways with his Guardian. She could see a tree, thicker and older than the rest, at the far end of the clearing, standing like a giant among its children. The five companions walked out into the clearing, scanning the area, looking for something that could be on interest.

There was nothing, nothing out of the ordinary, for the Shrine of Spirits anyway. Though everyone in the clearing was suddenly overcome with an unsettling feeling that someone or something they could not see was watching them. Xelha scanned the clearing, unsure what she was looking for. "Um… what are we looking for exactly?" asked Lyude politely.

"Huh?" Xelha turned around, her focus having been on searching the clearing.

"What are we looking for?" asked Lyude, "We're out here looking for something, right?"

"There's nothing here," said Savyna levelly, "We should head back to the manor."

Xelha's shoulder's slumped with disappointment. The Dust Eater had been wrong; Kalas was not here. "You're right," she said, her voice echoing her feeling of defeat, "Let's go." The five companions turned to leave the clearing.

"_Wait, don't go!"_

All five stopped immediately. They knew that voice, even if it did sound as if the speaker were at the opposite end of a cave. They turned around, looking for the source of the voice, half-hoping they found nothing.

They saw it, up in the branches of the large tree at the other end of the clearing. A ring comprised of blue lights shaped like feathers. The five, as if in a trance, walked up to the base of the tree. The little ring flew down to meet them, and hovered at Xelha's eye level. _"Um…"_ said the Spirit, awkwardly, _"…Long time no see?"_

"K…Kalas?" stuttered Xelha.

"_Yeah, it's me."_ Said the Spirit.

There was a long silence, as Xelha and the others began to grasp the reality of Kalas's state. "Have you been here the whole time?" asked Xelha, when no one else said anything, "Just sitting here?"

"_I resent that!"_ retorted Kalas, _"You got a better idea where I should go? And no, I haven't been 'just sitting here' all the time. I've been with Allyr, back in her world for the most part."_

"You've been with Allyr? How, when she was back in her home world?" asked Savyna, curious.

If a ring of blue feather-lights could shrug, Kalas did it, _"I dunno,"_ he confessed, _"It just sort of happened. I ended up in her world. She was back in her body, and I was a Spirit, so… I ended up as her Guardian Spirit."_

Savyna arched an eyebrow, but did not comment. "You were your Guardian's Guardian?" asked Xelha, bewildered.

"_Pretty much, yeah."_ Said Kalas, almost dismissively, _"Then we found a way back here, went looking for you, met Melodia, who had an insane plan for saving you guys, which worked. And then, um…"_ he trailed off.

"Please tell me Kalas," said Xelha, pleadingly, "What happened to Allyr?"

The Spirit seemed to look away from Xelha, to look at the ground instead, _"…I don't know,"_ he admitted, _"Morjidza jumped us, and next thing I knew, we weren't bound anymore. I was completely alone. I couldn't go back to Allyr, because we just might be split again, so I had to find you."_

They looked down at the dejected Spirit, wondering both when they had ever seen Kalas this depressed, (Perhaps just being dead had something to do with it?) and wondering _exactly_ what kind of Guardian he would make. "Well, I guess we'll just have to find your body then," said Xelha, almost to herself.

The Spirit looked up. _"What?"_ he said, confusion clear in his voice.

"Allyr told us that she became a Spirit because she fell into a coma," said Xelha, voice hopeful, "So we just have to find your body, stick you back inside, and you'll come back, right?"

"…_No,"_

"No? Why not?"

"_I didn't fall into a coma. I froze to death."_

"Oh… I… I'm sorry."

"_Don't be, there's nothing to apologize for."_

"I know!" Xelha shouted triumphantly, "The Whale! He can bring you back to life."

"_Maybe,"_ said Kalas, though he knew that his pact with Death would not allow that. He still had not found a way to wriggle out of the deal. He knew he had to very soon or he would be taken away with no hope of return.

"You're really calm about all this," noted Gibari, looking the Spirit up and down. "About being… The way you are."

"_I've gotten used to it,"_ he said, _"No big deal."_

"Kalas, you're dead," said Savyna, with all the subtlety of a big stick with a nail through it, "Is that 'no big deal' to you?"

"_That's not what I meant!"_ Kalas said peevishly, _"I just meant that it's… Um…"_ He trailed off, apparently running out of steam.

"Why don't we head back for the manor?" suggested Gibari, "Then as we're walking maybe Kalas can come up with an excuse."

"_Ha ha," _said Kalas sarcastically, _"But you have a point. Let's get moving."

* * *

_

"Where the _hell_ did you guys wander off to?" inquired Ayme when Xelha and the others entered the lobby of the manor.

"We risked our lives to save your asses, so it would be nice if you didn't decide to wander off where you'd get yourselves killed. Caprende?" said Folon irritably.

"We, just had to go looking for something," started Xelha. "We-"

"_Ayme… Folon…"_ moaned an unearthly voice in the pair's heads, _"I am a ghooooooost! Come to exact revenge for all those innocents you killed under Geldoblame! Beware the angry souls from beyond the graaaaaaave!"_

"W… What the?" stuttered Folon, clutching his head, "What's happening?"

"What's going on!" shouted Ayme, similarly clutching at her head, trying to find the source of the voice.

The effect was spoiled when said voice burst out laughing.

"_Oh gods, that was great!"_ said the voice, through fits of laughter, _"You two should have seen your faces!"_

"Kalas! That's not funny!" said Xelha, turning around to look at something behind her that Ayme and Folon could not see.

"_Are you crazy?"_ replied the voice, still snickering, _"That was the most fun I've had in ages!"_

"You gotta admit Xelha," said Gibari, grinning broadly, "That was kinda funny."

"Just what the hell is going on?" demanded Ayme, who even with the black hood covering the upper half of her face, was clearly very angry.

Xelha stood to one side, so Ayme and Folon could see Kalas the Spirit. _"Never thought I'd see you two again,"_ said Kalas, enjoying the effect he had on the two.

"Um… What's this thing?" asked Folon, pointing at Kalas, "What's it doing here?"

"_This 'thing' is going to kick your ass if you call me 'it' again," _said Kalas, offended by the 'thing' and 'it', _"I'm Kalas, unless you've completely forgotten about me. Which wouldn't surprise me."_

"Um…" Ayme started, staring at the ring of blue lights, vaguely wondering what the hell was going on, "Well, uh…"

"You've lost some weight," said Folon, grinning.

"_You should try the diet plan sometime,"_ said Kalas, voice dripping sarcasm, _"First you just jump off a bridge-"_

"ENOUGH!" shouted Xelha to ensure that she would get attention, "Stop it please," she continued when everyone was looking at her, "Attitudes like that will get us nowhere. We have to work together to make it through this thing alive, okay?"

There was muttered consent, as if the three speakers did not really think so, but did not want to contradict Xelha. She sighed, "Just… Don't fight anymore, okay? Just put the past behind you and move on with your lives." This was met with more mutterings. "Just try, at least, please?"

"Fine." said Ayme, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," said Folon, not sounding convinced.

"_Whatever,"_ was Kalas's reply.

"What's all the chatter about? Is everything okay?"

Xelha and the others looked up to see Melodia standing at the top of the stairs, the foot of which the group had been standing by. The Melodia spotted Kalas, failing to hide her worry. _"Allyr got left behind,"_ said Kalas, misinterpreting Melodia's worry, _"We got separated."_

"Wait a minute, so you knew?" asked Xelha, almost accusingly at Melodia, who looked uncomfortable, "You _knew_ about this and you didn't say anything to me? WHY?"

"_Because I asked her not to!"_

Xelha turned to Kalas, a hurt look on her face, _"It's not her fault, okay?"_ said Kalas, this time in a gentler tone, _"Before Allyr and I left for Wazn, I asked Melodia, if you guys came back before us, not to tell you about what happened to me. So don't harass her because of this. Okay?"_

Xelha opened her mouth, as if to say something, but then shut it again. There then fell an empty silence, which no one wanted to break.

Folon snickered quietly to himself, as he thought of something. Pointing at the ring of blue lights that was Kalas, he whispered to Ayme, "Fifty points if you get a bull's-eye."

* * *

A week later, it was the night before Xelha, her friends and several others were going to attempt to invade Wazn again, to try to reclaim it from the usurper Morjidza. 

Xelha was sitting in the guestroom she had been given. The walls were painted white, and contained a small, simple bed, a small table with a chair, and a dresser. Xelha was sitting on the bed, her legs crossed, looking out the little window at the night.

"_Hey,"_

Xelha turned around, to see the ghost of Kalas looking back at her. The door to the room had been closed, and locked. "How do you do that?" asked Xelha.

The ghost looked blank, _"Do what?"_

"That," said Xelha vaguely, "Go from the ring of lights to the ghost and back again?"

Kalas shrugged, _"I don't know,"_ he said, _"It just happens."_ Xelha looked away, a thoughtful look on her face. Kalas cocked his head to one side, _"What's wrong?"_ he asked, concern in his voice.

"Nothing," lied Xelha, "It's just…" she looked back at Kalas, who in turned look at her with his searching, unblinking gaze. "You're just, well…. The way you are now."

Kalas walked over to Xelha, making no sound as he moved, _"I'll come back,"_ he said, reassuringly, _"I won't stay like this forever. I'll come back. You did, so I can too."_

"Really?" asked Xelha, feeling childish, "You're not just saying that?"

"_Of course not,"_ said Kalas, _"I really will."_

"Promise?"

Kalas looked at Xelha, thinking how something in her hopeful face reminded him a little of Fee, the memory surfacing like a song who's melody is half-forgotten. He was felt that if he promised Xelha he would come back, but was unable to get out of his pact with Death, she would be devastated. Could he bear that weight if he failed, the weight of the greatest broken promise?

He nodded, _"I promise." _He said, confidence and absolute determination in his voice, _"I'll come back. Besides,"_ he added, _"I would never leave you, particularly as you are now."_

Xelha blushed, but did not look away. _"Everything will be all right, okay?"_ he said, reassuringly.

She smiled warmly at him, "Sure," she said, "I believe you. First, we have to get rid of Morjidza first, then everything will go back to normal. But, I wanted to ask you something." Kalas was dreading the question. "What happened to Allyr?" asked Xelha, "I mean, you were vague when you told us what happened to you two back in the palace. She's my friend too, I want to know what happened."

Kalas looked out the window, which overlooked the grassy fields outside of the city, _"I don't know,"_ he said, _"When I came to after we were split, I was completely alone, just sitting in the middle of the hall. I'd just assumed that Allyr had fallen unconscious and then they'd taken her somewhere. She's alive, that's all I know."_

"How?" asked Xelha, "I mean, I thought you were…"

"_I'm not technically dead,"_ said Kalas with a shrug, _"And Allyr… I don't really know how I know. It's just sort of a feeling-"_ Kalas stopped in the middle of his sentence, his head cocked as if he was listening for something.

"Kalas what's wro-"

He shushed her, a nervous look on his face._ "Something's wrong,"_ he said, _"I think I hear screaming…"_

Xelha strained to hear anything, but there was only silence, "I don't hear anything." She said.

Kalas snorted, _"Probably,"_ he said, sourly, _"My eyesight and hearing is better as a Spirit. Probably compensation, as I utterly lack the other three senses."_

Then Xelha did hear a shout, a panicked one, as of an animal being set upon by a predator. Xelha grabbed her Magnus deck, (Supplied by Melodia, as her own deck had been taken when she had been captured.) unlocked the door and ran out. As she ran out of the guesthouse, it was to find that Kalas had not been mistaken. About twenty Diabolos had descended upon the city, attacking anything that moved, and quiet a few things that were immobile. One of the monsters spotted Xelha, and turned its great red eye upon her. It hissed, eye narrowing, and dove down on her.

* * *

Yet another cliffhanger. Uh huh. 

Confession: I've been sitting on this chapter for some time now, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to keep the ghost and the Dust Eater or not. I had to keep the ghost for consistency sake (Kalas was a ghost very briefly in the first chapter. Behold my horrible planning skillz.) and I'd already introduced the old man, so I had to use him. Besides, I have... _plans_...

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

(-cough-) Anyways, please review, once more. Feedback is always welcome.


	20. What Was Broken

Disclaimer: I don't own Baten Kaitos blah blah blah...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter XIX: What Was Broken

By dawn, half the city was reduced to rubble and splintered wood. The Diabolos had crushed the city and demoralized its citizens. By some luck, and probably the blessing of some higher deity, no one died that night. Except the Diabolos.

Kalas had woken everyone in the guesthouse in time to fight the Diabolos before they were all slain in their sleep. Now they milled about the ruins of Balancoire, a thick fog beginning to engulf the wreck. They were all lost in their own thoughts.

"Morjidza must've sent them," commented Savyna, poking one Diabolos corpse with the toe of her boot, making absolutely sure it was dead, "No one else can control these things."

"How'd they find us?" thought Xelha aloud, as the looked at the same fallen monster. Then a horrifying thought struck her, "What if Allyr told him where we were hiding?" she wondered aloud, horror at the thought wrenching her gut, "What if they captured her just to find out? What if they tortured her and-"

"Calm down Xelha," said Savyna, "I understand your worry. But that _is_ a definite possibility."

"…Then she could be alive,"

"Maybe. In any case, we should go ahead and head for Wazn. It won't take long for us to recover from this fight. We need to get to the source of the problem, and fast if we are to succeed."

Xelha looked down at the ring of lights floating at her side, "Are you okay Kalas?" she asked.

"_Just fine,"_ he lied. He hated the thought that his best friend and former charge had been tortured and/or killed. If that had happened not only had he failed his friend, he had failed as her Guardian.

If Xelha detected his lie, she did not show it. She was anxious too, for the fate of her friend, and for what would happen when she returned to her homeland. What would she find there? Would they be able to overthrow Morjidza and save her people?

She did not know.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at that very moment the Clairvoyant in Reverence had a vision.

The bright orange clockwork doll shouted his surprise when the vision came to him. It was not a vision of the end of the world, (yet), but of something horrible that was destined to come. Not soon, by any measure, he usually did not get visions of events so far in the future, but he knew he had to warn the people of its coming. It would come one day in the far future, like a large lumbering beast that was slow, but completely unstoppable.

He was standing in the dance hall, where dozens of other clockwork dolls danced, spinning around and around as eternal as the stars and their own cosmic dance. The Clairvoyant threw up his mechanical arms, and ran outside of the building, and began shouting to the human and clockwork inhabitants of the Picture Book Village all of whom, as normally did, ignored the Clairvoyant. Even after he had correctly foreseen the return of Malpercio, very few, human or clockwork doll, took his words of warning seriously.

"Heed my warning!" shouted the Clairvoyant, to the sky and to the entirety of the otherworldly village, "Dark days are fast approaching! Come like the plague they will, without warning and silent as a mayfly's breath! Rise from among our own they will! Like downtrodden, stray dogs that will attack any who cross their path! None shall be spared!

"Beware!" continued the Clairvoyant, louder now, but his cries still fell on deaf ears, "Beware the Darkness that flies on wings of white! BEWARE THE BIG BAD WOLF!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unlike the airship that Xelha and the others had used to escape, the one they were using now was a fully equipped warship.

It was similar to the _Goldoba_ in shape, size, and firepower. It was a ship made simply to blow things up, and blowing things up was something it was good at. Which of course was why it was being used to invade Wazn. Partly, because no one could figure out how to invade a country without anyone noticing, without anyone on their side being inside the said country. So, much to Kalas's delight and to the displeasure of everyone else, the only plan that made any sense was to run into Wazn, proverbial guns blazing. However, much to the concern of everyone aboard the vessel, they noted that they passed a flock of about fifty Diabolos heading somewhere else. The flock did not bother with their ship, either because they did not notice it, or were far more intent on something else.

"Are you crazy? We can't attack them," said Ayme who was flying the warship when Xelha suggested stopping the flock, "With that many of them out there we'd be sunk before we got through fifteen. This ship's good for aerial combat, but we can't take out that many all at once."

The truth was painful, but still the truth. Xelha was contemplating this, and before she knew it she and her friends were already in Cursa. A quick flight over the city revealed the capitol to be completely deserted. Completely empty of civilian and guard alike. The raiding party quickly disembarked their vessel, and began to slowly wander the streets of Cursa, weapons raised, looking for possible snipers hiding in any and all corners.

"This is… bizarre," observed Gibari, but still keeping his paddle raised, "You woulda thought that we'd have been attacked by now."

"We shouldn't have even been able to dock," agreed Savyna, "They're luring us into a false sense of security."

"There's the entrance to the palace," said Lyude pointing, "And not a guard in sight."

"Maybe they be planning to ambush us?" suggested the Great Mizuti, "Inside where we be like fish in a barrel?"

"That is a possibility," acknowledged Savyna.

"_I'll go ahead and check it out,"_ volunteered Kalas, _"If there's anyone in there they can't hurt me."_

"Um… But won't they notice you?" asked Gibari, "With the glowing and all?"

"_I don't glow that much,"_ muttered Kalas, _"Besides, you got another idea?"_ When no one presented a better idea, he floated off past the icy gates to the palace without another word. Wondering if this was such a bright idea, the five companions waited anxiously for the Spirit's return. When he did come back he announced, _"There's a bunch of armed guys in there. They look as if they're waiting to ambush someone. Probably us."_

"No surprises there," said Savyna, "Any way to get in undetected?"

"_Nope,"_ he said, _"The only way for all of us to get in through the front door, and everyone's going to look there."_

"How did Allyr get inside?" asked Lyude, "She must have snuck in somehow."

"_Forgot about that… C'mon, I'll show you how she got in."_ The crew followed Kalas around to the rear of the palace, where he pointed out a second story window that could be reached via two lines of knives stuck into the wall. Many had fallen out or were extremely loose. But with luck, and a fair amount of stumbling, everyone made it up. _"I'm surprised they didn't get rid of those knives yet,"_ commented Kalas, _"That was too easy."_

"At least we be in palace," said Mizuti optimistically, "We be doing okay. Just fine. Pretty good."

"It still could be a trap," said Savyna, scanning the room and the open door leading to the hall beyond for traps or enemies.

"We might be okay if we don't make a lot of noise," said Lydue, "We should get moving."

They were very cautious as they entered the icy hall of the palace, the biting cold keeping them alert. They walked down the halls, making as little noise as they could. They all kept their weapons raised, each expecting an attack at any time, and from an angle that they probably would not expect.

The small party stopped walking when they realized that the Spirit was no longer with them. They turned around at a cry of _"ALLYR!"_ in time to see a little blue light turn a corner and head off in a different direction entirely.

"What's he thinking?" said Gibari, running after the Spirit, "Where do you think you're going?"

As it turned out, Kalas could fly faster than anyone could run. The others were only barely able to follow him. Eventually, he came to a door, and flew right through. The others followed, slamming the door open to see a long line of cells on either side of a long hallway. It was the dungeon where they had all been held not all that long ago. Kalas flew up to one, and between the bars to get to the inside of the cell. When the others arrived, they found the reason for Kalas's sudden flight. Inside, lying on her side, immobile, was Allyr, at least they assumed it was her. The prisoner inside the cell had long brown hair that looked as if it had not seen a brush in weeks. She was wearing one of the uniforms of Morjidza's followers, the right sleeve torn off, which Allyr had used for Ladekahn's makeshift splint. Her hands and feet were bound with thick rope

Kalas was floating by her shoulder, apparently trying to rouse her. _"Allyr?"_ he said, wondering if she were asleep or unconscious.

He was rewarded when she rolled on her back, and looked up at him with unfocused eyes. "Ah hell," she muttered, "I've really gone insane now, haven't I?"

"_No,"_ he said, almost laughing with relief. His best friend was alive! _"You're sane."_

"Then that crazy old guy was right…" She sat up, muscles aching after long disuse. She turned to face the bars of her cells, and saw the rest of her friends beyond, "Oh boy, if you guys get caught saving me," she started, "I'm gonna be so angry…"

"Getting caught isn't an option," said Savyna simply, "That's all there is to it."

"And what 'old guy' are you talking about?" asked Lyude, curious.

Allyr shrugged, regaining her bearings, "I dunno," she said, "He just sort of popped up one day. Called himself the 'Dust Eater' or something like that. He told me you guys would be coming back soon, and I had to be ready. But it was weird," she added, seeming to be thinking aloud now, "He didn't call me by name even after I told him what it was. He just kept calling me 'Sparrow'…"

"You've been sitting in this cell for way too long," said Gibari, pulling out a giant six-foot long paddle, "Time to get you out!"

One broken lock, and some severed rope later Allyr was standing on her own two feet again. She wobbled a bit, as if she had forgotten exactly how to stand. But for having been lying in that cell, completely still for a week, she was doing well. She turned to Kalas and smiled, "You look well." She held out her arms as if to embrace the ring of blue feather-lights, "Ready?"

"_Yeah,"_ confirmed the Spirit. He flew toward her, and when he made contact with her body, there was a blinding flash of white light. When it dissipated, Allyr was leaning against the side of her cell, panting for breath, as if the bonding had sucked all of the energy out of her body. The Spirit had vanished. _"You okay?"_ asked the disembodied voice of Kalas, his voice now as clear as if he were standing in that room with everyone else.

"Yep," said Allyr, though she sounded fatigued, "I'm just fine." She smiled, feeling the warm light inside her chest that was her bond with Kalas, "Good to have you back partner."

"I thought I heard footsteps," said Lyude, pulling out his gun.

_So much for a great reunion,_ thought Allyr. Then she realized a horrible truth as she searched her pockets, _I'm unarmed, damn it!_ As if sensing this thought she got a mental jab from Kalas, as if saying, _"Don't forget me already!"_

She walked out of the cell, body tense, looking down the narrow halls for whoever was approaching. It turned out to be six of Morjidza's grunts, three on either side of the group, all with loaded crossbows. As with her last encounter with him, Morjidza himself came to see what all the commotion was about. His face contorted into a snarl of anger upon seeing the six escapees standing in the middle of that hall.

"You are becoming an annoyance!" he spat at them, "The only way I shall be rid of you is to wipe you off the face of the earth!"

_Crap…_ Thought Allyr, eyeing the crossbow bolts that were being aimed at them.

"Fire Burst!"

"Light Flare!"

Xelha threw her spells to the guards behind them, the Magnus erupting into a fireball as it hurtled toward its target. Mizuti's spell burst in a splash of white light, effectively blinding everyone in the hall momentarily. As soon as the fire died down and the light faded, it became clear to Morjidza that he was now standing in the middle of the hall facing six very angry, very dangerous people, without any guards to protect him.

Kalas laughed triumphantly upon seeing Morjidza's distress, _"Morjidza!"_ he called out mockingly, _"Your life is ours!"_

Morjidza's eyes widened in recognition and shock on hearing the voice. "YOU!" he shouted, "You're her Guardian? You're supposed to be dead! Gone and buried!" Then he remembered his nightmares: The woman in the cloak, the dead bird… His nightmares were coming true!

He turned and ran his courage and confidence leaving him like scared rabbits.

"I am Light, hear my Voice! SHINNING SERAPH!"

Allyr's spell fell onto her target like a great weight crushing a small insect. Morjidza was consumed in the great ball of light she had conjured, and seemed to vanish in the brightness. When the light dissipated, all that was left of Morjidza was a puddle of black unidentifiable goo, the consistency of fresh mud.

"That's nasty…" thought Allyr aloud as she looked down at the puddle, "Is that supposed to happen?"

"Um… No." chorused everyone else in the corridor.

"You…. Biiiitch…!" hissed a voice that came from the puddle, "You sssssshall pay for thisssss…!" The black mass leapt off the floor and attempted to tackle Allyr. She yelped in disgust and jumped back, flinching at the thing made a wet _plop_ as it landed at her feet. There was a gunshot as Lyude fired at the puddle. His aim was true, and his bullet bore a hole inside the black substance. It hissed in anger and pain as its wound sizzled, and it slithered away in the opposite direction.

Allyr stood there a minute, dumbfounded, trying to rationalize what had just happened. _Oh… That's right,_ she thought as she remembered something, _He's tainted with Malpercio's power… Damn, and I thought Geldoblame got the short straw. Wait… No… I take that back…_

"We have to follow him!" shouted Xelha, prepared to dash after Morjidza. She turned to the others, a desperate look on her face "We have to…" She trailed off. She had noticed that the others had turned around to see someone that had been standing behind them. Standing between two of the three bodies of the fallen guards, stood a little girl of about five or six. Her skin, hair, and dress were completely white. Her eyes were completely black, and her hair had little black beads woven into the braids that framed her face. The little girl looked at Allyr with cold demanding eyes.

"You guys go ahead," said Allyr, waving a hand at her friends without looking away from the little girl, "We'll catch up."

"But-" started Xelha.

"We'll catch up."

Xelha and the others hesitated, as if they did not want to leave Allyr with this unearthly little girl. Eventually they did run off after their quarry, their footsteps echoing off the icy walls of the dungeon. As soon as she knew that her friends were gone, Allyr turned to the little girl, "What the hell do you want?" she snapped, "We had a deal, didn't we? Or does Death so lightly throw away her promises?"

"We did have a pact," agreed Death, "However, as circumstances are, you have to fulfill your end now."

"_Why_?" chorused Allyr and Kalas, both clearly angry at this demand.

"When Morjidza dies, I and all of my kind, will never be able to return to this place," explained Death, "He is the last of his kind, and when he dies his profane art will be forgotten forever. I must fulfill my duty now, before Morjidza falls."

"_No!"_ protested Kalas, _"We had a deal!"_

"I have been lenient with you as it is!" said Death, though her normally emotionless face and voice was tainted with anger, "Only your bond protects you! I would have taken you when you were apart, but that would have violated our pact. Soon, Morjidza will die and so you must realize your end of our pact!"

"_No,"_ said Kalas with a simple defiance. He was not afraid of Death now; he knew how he would escape his pact.

"…No?" repeated Death, hiding her mild surprise at the Spirit's defiance.

"_I haven't done what I need to do yet. That was what you promised you would let me do, right?"_

"You will not be able to have a hand in Morjidza's death, so you must come with me now!"

"_No,"_

"We had a deal, Spirit." Said Death, clearly nearing the end of her patience.

"Kalas," said Allyr, "While I realize you want vengeance-"

"_It's not that,"_ denied the Spirit, _"But I haven't done everything I have to do yet, so you can't take me,"_ he added, turning to Death, _"Not yet."_

"Why?" asked Death, sounding both curious and impatient at the same time, "What is it you still need to do?"

"_Come back to life."_

Death lifted a colorless eyebrow, "Oh?"

"_The Great Whale can bring me back," _continued Kalas, _"If I left now, knowing what I'm leaving behind and that I _could_ come back, I'd never rest. So I _need_ to come back."_

Allyr stared at Kalas, "…Wow," she said, "That's… Deep for you."

Kalas snorted, _"I needed _something_ to do while you wasted all that time _sleeping_."_ He retorted.

"Well, look who's already forgotten how the living need their sleep!"

"_You get _way_ more than you need! And it's so _boring_ just watching you lie there, _snoring_ away!"_

"I do _not_ snore!"

"_Wanna bet?"_

"Yeah!"

"_Oh yeah?"_

"Yeah!"

"I shall **_not_** be so lightly forgotten!"

Both Allyr and Kalas turned to look at Death, who was clearly very angry. It seemed that Kalas's trick had worked, otherwise Death would not be so angry. Her face had contorted into a snarl of such anger that it did not belong with the body of a little girl. "We had a deal!" she snarled, with enough anger to make Allyr take a step back.

"_No one likes a sore loser! I would've thought that you'd have gotten used to being cheated by now!"_ taunted Kalas, sounding very happy that he had finally gotten out of his deal with Death. If he were alive again she would have to reason to pursue him, or be able to after Morjidza died.

"Kalas, don't make Death angry," said Allyr, "Because it's not you she's going to attack if she gets angry."

"Then be damned, the both of you!" shouted Death finally, "If your partner dies, Spirit, by accident or design I will not save you! I will leave you to wander the earth until the end of time!" With those final words, she vanished like the memory of a dream.

"_So… no pressure then?"_

"Shut up."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Remind me why you're about to jump into the world's biggest puddle, which is probably also freezing cold?"_ asked Kalas five minutes later.

After their encounter with Death, Allyr, without another word, had run out of the palace, and to Cursa's airship port. After the return of the Ocean, it had flooded and now was only good as a boat harbor. Allyr was standing at the very end, looking down at the dark blue waters. All she had to do was take one step… But she did not really want to. Kalas was right, it probably _was_ freezing cold.

"I never said why," said Allyr, explaining to Kalas, "Remember the old guy that popped up that one time? Before he left he said that if ever I needed the Great Whale's help, all I had to do was jump into the Ocean, right around here."

"…_And you believed him?"_ asked Kalas. He was skeptical that jumping into freezing water could really do either of them any good.

"Well… yes, I do believe him," said Allyr, "He was right about you guys coming. Besides, got any other idea on how to get the Whale? No? Okay? Okay…"

She looked down at the water again, and shivered. "Here goes nothing…" she muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath, and dove into the water.

Xelha and the others chased the puddle of muck that was Morjidza like hunters chasing a fox, running until they emerged out into the giant stairway that ran through the whole palace. As soon as he reached the steps, Morjidza turned and slithered upstairs, fatigue and his injuries clearly beginning to take their toll. He cursed them under his breath, looking for a way out of this situation. He could see none of his men or Diabolos to call to his aid. He turned back to see his pursuers quickly gaining ground. He hissed in anger, his liquid body rippling. The little puddle grew and slowly made itself into something resembling a human form, without obvious features, made entirely of the unidentifiable thick liquid that had made up the puddle. The bizarre substance dripped silently from its limbs like blood from an open wound.

His pursuers stopped upon seeing this shape change, and were momentarily surprised by the alteration. Taking advantage of this hesitation, it solidified the substance that made up his right arm, and forced it into the shape of a sword, so that his forearm had turned into a four-foot black blade that apparently grew right out of his elbow.

"Diiiiiie now!" shouted the thing that was Morjidza, its voice bubbling up from a half-formed throat. He leapt at them, black sword-arm raised to strike. His pursuers scattered like mice at approaching footsteps. The blade of his sword-arm sank a yard into the ice. He yanked it out without apparent effort, and looked around at Xelha and the others, who had formed a loose circle around him. They were afraid, he could tell. They've never fought an enemy like him who could alter his shape as they had seem him do. Some of the goo of his face seemed to twist into a sneer, "Afraiiiiiiiid little kitties?" he asked tauntingly, "Ssssssscared are we?"

He gave a throaty cry and descended upon Lyude, his sword-arm raised. Lyude, pulled out a shield Magnus in time to block the blow, the force seeming to rattle the bones in his arm. Morjidza whirled around and slashed at Savyna who had been sneaking up behind him. He cut her across her stomach, and she gritted her teeth in pain but seemed no less determined.

The monster whirled around again, giving a gurgling laugh at the ease at which he fought his opponents. Nothing would stop him now!

A new voice shouted, almost like a battle cry, surprising all of the combatants. The owner of the voice ran at Morjidza, sword raised in total disregard for personal safety. Morjidza only barely got his sword-arm up to parry the blow in time, so surprised he was to see the newcomer. "YOOOOOOOOU!" he shouted at the newcomer, backing away, shock and a trace of fear in his voice. "YOU!" he pointed a misshaped finger at the newcomer, as if hoping that act would make the newcomer disappear, "It can't be YOU!"

The newcomer grinned, "It's me," said Kalas.

A Kalas that was very alive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is the first time (Exculding flashbacks) that I haven't completely italicized what Kalas said.

Which is awesome!

Review, please.


	21. Zenith

Oh my God I'm so close to the end! It makes me feel kinda sad...

Disclaimer: After twenty chapters, you should have figured out that I do not own Baten Kaitos, its locations, or characters. 'Kay?

* * *

Chapter XX: Zenith 

_Kalas watched Allyr dive into the waters of the Ocean, still skeptical that doing so could summon the Whale to help them. He followed her into the water, driven on by his bond with her. He knew she could feel the cold, and felt her discomfort, if not the cold and wetness itself. She quickly surfaced to take in a deep breath of air, body shivering, before diving back down into the dark Ocean waters._

_Nothing happened._

_Then their bond broke. It was not the harsh break that resulted from when Morjidza forcefully split them. It was more like the bond just dissolved, eroded and ceased to exist. Kalas found himself to be very alone, very deep underwater. He wondered how he had gotten here, when Allyr had not dived this far down. He began to her an eerie, yet calming sound that seemed to come from the water itself. Was it singing? It was impossible to tell._

**Stay or go?**_ Asked a voice in his mind so deep that it seemed to rattle the bones of the earth, _**Will you stay or go?**

Go where?_ Thought Kalas, not expecting the voice to hear his thoughts._

**To where all such souls go,**_ said the voice gently, _**To heaven. Do you wish to go, or stay?**

Um…_ was the only response he could bring to mind. Then something clicked in his mind, _Wait a minute… You're letting _me_ go to heaven?

**Yes,** _said the voice,_** If you wish, you may go to heaven.**

R-really?

**Of course, little Spirit. This is not a subject I would joke about.**

_Kalas floated in silence, his mind reeling with the implications of this statement. He was actually _allowed_ to go to heaven? After all the things he did? It was tempting. He was about to say, "Yes, I'll go" when he stopped himself. What the _hell_ had he been thinking? He can't go yet! Not now, when everybody needs him back the most! If he left now, he would be leaving everyone behind!_

I want to stay!_ Thought Kalas defiantly, hoping the mysterious voice still heard him, _And nothing's going to change my mind!

**Good,**_said the voice, seeming pleased, _**Wise decision. Then go back, little Raven, and go with the blessing of the Great Whale.**

_Then there was pain. Kalas had never once felt physical pain as a Spirit, and now these spikes being driven into his being were almost too much._ **This is my gift to you,**_said the mysterious voice, _**A second chance.**

_Kalas felt as if he had been buried alive. Suddenly he was blind, deaf, and paralyzed. Cold water pressed in all around him as if seeking to crush him. He tried to move but could not seem to conjure the strength. His mind became fuzzy and panic-stricken, as if he were drowning._

_But how could he drown? He was a Spirit, wasn't he?_

_No… He had never once felt cold as a Spirit… Never…_

_He broke the surface of the water. The shock of cold air against his wet skin almost was a shock. So much that he floundered and fell under again. He would have drowned had he not been washed to shore. He clawed at the icy bank, trying to drag himself onto solid ground, while instincts only half-remembered trying to remind him to breathe the whole while. He dragged himself onto the shore like a clumsy fish trying to beach itself. He lay there for a long while, surf playing with his feet, vomiting the water he had accidentally inhaled._

_He blinked slowly, trying to make out the blurry shapes in his field of vision. He tried to make sense of the muffled noises that he was hearing. Suddenly everything seemed too real. After the month he had spent as a Spirit, living seemed to be much more vivid. The memories of the past month were like the memories of a dream, distant and unreal. Now that he was confined to a body, things _were _real._

_Kalas blinked, and reached out a hand that felt like lead to touch the cold ice and came to another powerful realization: He could _do_ things now. His power no longer depended on another. He grinned weakly to himself, as this began to sink in. He tried to stand up on shaking legs, but collapsed again when he failed to find the strength. His body felt as if it were made of lead rather than flesh and bone, clumsy and hard to coordinate. He managed to get further up the shore by walking slowly on all fours like an animal._

_It took a long while before Kalas could stand on his own. He staggered into Cursa, using the walls of buildings as a support where he could, and made his slow way up to the palace.

* * *

_

It was Kalas, standing there on the icy steps, sword raised to a guard position. His hair and clothes were soaking wet as if he had just gone swimming, and clung to his skin. But it was undeniably Kalas, standing there against all laws of nature, living again. This was not the melancholy Spirit who had been Allyr's Guardian. This was a very alive, and _very, **very **_angry living human.

"YOU!" shouted the monster Morjidza again, "You're sssssupposed to be dead!"

"What's your point?" asked Kalas, his voice deadly soft.

"Kalas you idiot!" shouted Allyr as she ran up the Great Staircase to catch up with him, "Don't run ahead now! We just got through putting you back together – What the hell is that?" added Allyr, interrupting herself as she noticed the humanoid blob that was Morjidza, his forearm transformed into a long sword.

"What do you think it is?" asked Kalas, his sapphire eyes never leaving Morjidza, "Who else could it be?"

"…Wow, we missed something important…" said Allyr, hanging back far enough so she could see what was going on, but could not get injured. She was still completely unarmed. _Even the dead guy got a sword…_ she thought bitterly.

"You bassstard!" hissed Morjidza at Kalas, "I wiiiill teach you to sssstay dead!"

"Bring it on," challenged Kalas, raising his sword to a guard position, his bloodlust already screaming at him to attack and take his revenge.

Morjidza roared and ran at him, his attack blocked by an upward thrust from Kalas. The two swordsmen traded blows, trying to navigate the stairs while fighting the other. Morjidza quickly noticed that something was different with Kalas's fighting style. His opponent gripped his sword with both hands, as if it weighed more than he could lift with just one. His attacks were wide and slow, less agile than his attacks had been when they had last fought. Then Morjidza realized what was wrong: After being a Spirit for so long, Kalas had not yet completely readjusted to a body! It must feel like his limbs are made of lead! This was something Morjidza could exploit.

Apparently a similar realization fell onto the other five combatants. Not wanting to lose their friend again, all five dove down onto Morjidza at more or less the same time, while pulling available Battle Magnus from their hands. Morjidza whirled around in time to see Gibari running toward him like a charging bull, paddle raised like a sword ready to strike. Morjidza ducked and sped away with fluid movements, only to be struck in the side by two spells thrown by Xelha and Mizuti simultaneously. He was hurled twenty feet by the force, and landed like a cat in a crouch. Hissing in anger, he jumped onto Lyude who was nearest, sword arm raised. The Imperial fell over as the monster's weight landed on his chest. His rifle discharged with a bang, the shot flying off to hit the distant icy ceiling. Savyna threw herself at Morjidza, dislodging him from her companion's chest and fell down with him a few steps before gracefully jumping away and landing in a perfect guard position.

The fight continued like this for twenty minutes, the six trying to get blows in while Morjidza moved fluidly between their blows, slashing at anything he could. Allyr stood far enough off that she could clearly see the battle, but not get attacked while she was unarmed. The battle was long and hard, and with one blow the battle was decided.

Kalas, with a bleeding arm, snuck up on Morjidza from behind while he was attempting to shatter Gibari's paddle. With a cry he charged Morjidza his sword raised. By the time Morjidza finally turned around it was too late. Kalas hacked at Morjidza with one blow that would have cleaved a normal person in two. It only resulted in Morjidza's body separating into two blobs, attached only at the base where his sword had not reached. Gibari and Kalas jumped back as Morjidza tried to reassemble his body, the substance trying to bend and warp itself into a humanoid form. Then Xelha and Mizuti lauched two light flares at the monster. With a bright flash of light it became clear to everyone that the battle was now finally over.

As the light faded, Mojidza writhed on the ground, shrieking with rage. He moaned and writhed, trying to stand again, but failed. While his body was less solid than what was normal, he still sustained injuries, and they were critical, and would probably be ultimately fatal. The other combatants returned their Magnus hands to their pouches, convinced that the monster would not rise again.

"Nooooooo…" moaned the fallen Morjidza, "I wassss promissssed victory!"

"And so you received it,"

Kalas and the others turned to see Death slowly walking up to Morjidza. She looked down at him, emotionless but nevertheless seemed repulsed by him, as if he were something disgusting that he had to deal with but would much rather not even look at.

"You ssssaid I would have victory!" gurgled Morjidza.

Death nodded, "And so you have," she said calmly, "The flock of Diabolos you sent have attacked Mira. Now a human herald has been sent to deliver the news of the islands' unconditional surrender. You have won, and now just as all other things you must fall. Your Diabolos will be banished back to the Void, your men will become disorganized and leaderless, and all your ambitions will die with you."

"Yoooooou lie!" spat Morjidza, "You lied to meeeee!"

Death shook her head, "Denial will not change the truth," she said, like a schoolteacher to a difficult child, "This is the way of the world."

Morjidza writhed like an animal in its death throws, apparently trying to get up, but failed miserably.

"Long, long ago," started Death, "I asked you what you would do if your victim could not find the way. Kalas did not know how to die, so his vengeful Spirit wandered the earth. Driven by the knowledge of everything you took away from him, he found a way to return and crumbled your newfound empire to dust. Like a wolf killing a helpless frightened sheep."

"Yoooou liiiie!" persisted Morjidza "You _LIE_!"

"And now, as with all things," said Death, reaching a small pale hand toward him, "It is time to go."

Morjidza writhed and struggled for a moment, shrieking in either rage or terror, it was impossible to tell. When Death touched him he gave one final shudder, and fell still. The substance that made up his body fell away like melting wax. Allyr shuddered at seeing this; she thought it would have been less scary if his death had been violent.

Death turned to the others there and nodded her head in acknowledgement, "Until we meet again." She said calmly, and then vanished as if she had never existed.

Xelha turned to look at Kalas, who in turn looked back at her. Then it really sank in; even though Xelha had seen Kalas alive during the fight, now it really began to have meaning. It was as if the realization that her husband was back had not been completely understood until that moment. Without another word she ran to him and embraced him tightly. He returned the gesture, dropping his weapon in the process to leave it to clatter to the ground and lay there like a forgotten memory. "You're back!" Xelha sobbed into his shoulder, "You're back! You came back!"

"Of course I did," he said soothingly and sincerely into her ear, "I came back for you. You don't have to cry anymore. I'm home now."

"Kalas be back!" shouted Mizuti, "Kalas be back! Allyr not break promise to Great Mizuti!" The sorceress started to jump (as it is possible to jump while already floating three inches above the ground) and whoop with joy.

"Shoulda figured that you'd be too stubborn to die like that," said Gibari, winking Kalas.

The others crowded around the couple, celebrating Kalas's miraculous return. Allyr stood twenty feet away down the stairs, feeling numb. She had not even noticed anything that had happened around her. It was as if she had turned to stone, unmoving and unfeeling. For just before she walked over to Morjidza to take his life, Death had whispered to Allyr: _"In exchange for your partner's life, I will take your home away from you."_

Without Death to forge a gate for her, Allyr could not return home, to her own world.

She was stranded in a world that she did not belong in.

* * *

Okay... (-pulls out To Do list-) Bring back Kalas, check... Kill Morjidza... check... Get rid of Death... check... So this leaves, only the Epilogue... 

(-sniffle-)

Anyway, one last thing before I go today, and I _really_ need an answer because this will ultimately determine a lot of things: If I wrote a sequel(s) to _Dreams of Rain_, would anyone actually _read_ it? Thanks a bunch for any answers. (Truth is, I wrote the latter half of this story with a sequel in mind. Hence the scene with the Clairvoyant in the previous chapter.)

So please, please review again.


	22. Waking From The Dream

Nooooo... It's the epilogue already...

(-sigh-) Okay, a bunch of stuff I have to do before the story.

First, a big thanks to my reviewers, because I wouldn't have posted this much of the story without all of you: **_LoneHowl_**, **_Phoenixfire1389,_** (Both of whom were also kind enough to read my FMA fic _Wings of Wax_.) **_Rebbe_** (Who's reviews were always enthustiastic, even if not she wasn't exactly happy with me.), **_Wings of Heart_** (Who was also willing to constructively criticize my story), _**Young Roy**_ (Who, even if she missed several chapters, were always kind enough to review every chapter), and finally, **_blooangel_**, **_AnimeCrazy88_**, **_Daughter of the Darkness Flame_**, **_Sweetbriar_**, and **_Alaia Skyhawk _**(even though they each reviewed only once, you're all still appreciated.) And to those who did read but didn't review, thanks anyways. (I know you're there, the miracle of the hit counter.)

And since I got an (enthusiastic) 'yes' when I asked if anyone would read a sequel, I will in fact write a sequel. Stay tuned. I finally get to use a plot I've been sitting on for a while. Mwahahaha.

Disclaimer: NO I DON'T OWN BATEN KAITOS ALREADY! (-angry frustrated shout-)

So here we go... (-sniffle-)

* * *

Epilogue: Waking From The Dream 

Allyr found the door ajar just slightly, and very quietly, walked up to it and peeked through. She could just see Kalas leaning on the rail of the balcony at the far end of the room, his back to the door. Allyr considered for a minute just leaving him alone, as she probably should, but she wanted to hear the news from Kalas.

The whole palace was abuzz with the news: It had apparently happened sometime last night, while the vast majority of the habitants of the palace were asleep, including Allyr. Allyr had woken up to the celebratory shouts of the knights of Wazn, drinking down various alcoholic beverages in celebration. Besides, this _was_ a cause for celebration on every level. Why not take the time to enjoy it? In her short time with the Wazn knights, about six months, Allyr had never seen them all so happy. Even the senior knights were enjoying themselves and laying total waste to their sobriety.

Allyr opened the door gently, hoping that none of the hinges would creak, and walked into the bedroom quietly. It suddenly occurred to Allyr that Kalas might be asleep, as he seemed to have draped himself on the rails like a discarded shirt. Not much of a surprise, as he probably had not gotten a lot of sleep the previous night, if any. She did not want to wake him if he were asleep. She walked up to him, taking extreme care to make as little noise as possible, and quietly called his name, "Kalas?" she whispered, "Are you awake?" She put a hand on his shoulder.

He jumped up with a yelp, pulling out from his Magnus pouch a knife. He looked around the room, apparently looking for an attacker. "Whoa! Whoa!" shouted Allyr, jumping a yard back, waving her arms around, "Calm down! It's just me! Allyr!"

Kalas blinked at her with tired bloodshot eyes, apparently trying to remember her. Deciding that she was not a threat, he grunted and with a flick of his wrist threw the knife into a corner of the room. He went right back to leaning on the rails. "Um… are you okay?" asked Allyr, cautiously walking back over to him, though very cautiously.

"Fine," he muttered, sounding very tired.

"You don't look it," commented Allyr, noting the dark bags under his eyes.

He snorted, "Let's see how _you_ look after a night of no sleep whatsoever."

"Were you asleep?"

"…No. Not really."

"Well, then, um…" Allyr cast around for a topic, "How's Xelha doing?"

"Fine," said Kalas, "Just fine, thank the gods."

"So… It's really happened then?"

Kalas snorted again, "The whole palace already knows, doesn't it?"

"Um…" she hesitated, "Yeah, that's pretty much it." After an awkward silence, Allyr worked up the guts to ask, "So… How'd it go?"

He shrugged, "Well, last night Xelha just… collapsed in the middle of the hall." He started, "I had to pretty much drag her to the infirmary. When we got there the doctors asked me to leave, and I said no, not a chance in hell. I guess at that point they weren't all that worried about me leaving right then, as they had Xelha to worry about. So… I stayed for the whole damn thing. The _whole damn thing_! I just stood there, holding her hand, doing whatever I could. It felt like it took _years_. After it was all over, Xelha fell asleep. I wasn't surprised; anyone would be tired after that. I still wanted to stay with her, but the doctors asked me to leave again, and I said no. I'd just stay and sleep on one of the spare beds or something. They said I couldn't, because what if they had another patient? Then they kicked me out when I suggested that I'd just sleep on the floor. So… here I am now."

"How'd they kick you out?" asked Allyr, curiosity overriding caution, "You'd think that the queen's husband, of all people, would be allowed to stay."

He shrugged again, "They didn't want me there, that's all I know," he said, blandly, "And they chased me out with scalpels. And don't laugh, those things are sharp!"

"I'm sorry," said Allyr, still giggling a little, "But I'd never thought I'd see the day you were chased away from something as important as this by some angry doctors!"

"Yeah, yeah."

They were quiet again, and Allyr felt bad for laughing. She shifted her weight uncomfortably. Wanting something to say, thought aloud, "It must have been… An interesting experience."

Kalas turned to her, a look of horror on his face, "I… Interesting?" he stammered, "Interesting? Are you crazy? It was horrible! The _whole time_ I thought Xelha was gonna die! And it just _wouldn't end_! And what if something _really_ bad happened to the ba-"

"Whoa! Calm down!" interrupted Allyr , "Everything turned out fine, right?"

"… Right,"

"So stop getting all jumpy about it, okay? You freak me out when you act weird and jittery like that."

"What, do you think _you'd _act normally if _you'd_ spent a whole night without _any_ sleep? Thinking that something you really cared about was going to die?"

"… Point taken."

There fell yet another silence. Allyr leaned against the railing next to Kalas, looking out over the city. "So… Uh…" she started, casting around for what he hoped would be a better topic, "Did you pick a name?"

Kalas shook his head, "No," he said, "I didn't. Xelha did."

After a pause, Allyr prompted, "Well…?"

"Well what?" asked Kalas, annoyed.

"What name did Xelha pick then?" asked Allyr, "And no, that bit hasn't gotten around the palace yet. But everyone knows it's a girl, if that's your next question."

Kalas sighed, "Tala," he said simply, "Her name's Tala."

"Mm… Tala…" said Allyr, as if trying to see what the name would sound like if she said it, "I like it! Xelha chose well."

Kalas smiled, "Good," he said, "Because we're not changing it."

Allyr winked at him, "Congrats," she said, "You now got another problem you have to balance!"

"It's not going to be that bad," he stopped uncertainly, "Is it?"

Allyr laughed, "Years of babysitting has taught me that while little kids are fun, they're also hell to take care of and keep track of..." Noticing Kalas's look of absolute horror when she said the word 'babysitting', Allyr explained, "It just means that sometimes, back home, people hired me to look after their kids while they were away. I didn't actually _sit_ on anybody! Though I've been sat _on_ more than once."

"Ah…"

There was yet another pause, as the pair looked over the city again, and the run that had just recently risen over the horizon, painting the ice of the city in yellows, oranges, pinks and reds.

"I wanted to ask," said Kalas, "How's life in the knights?"

After Wazn was reclaimed, Allyr had asked if she could join the Wazn Knights, "I understand it'll be hard," she had said to Xelha when she had asked, "But at least I'll be able to stay on Wazn and close by. And I'll be able to get better with a sword."

Allyr had not been so sure what life in this world would be like. Because Death refused to make her a gate to return home, she had no way of going back. She had tried to summon the Whale again, but the only thing she got out of that had been mild hypothermia. She felt oddly abandoned and lost, even though she had friends here and knew the place. All the same it felt that it wasn't _her_ world, and somehow made it all wrong. But after a while, she got used to it. She was allowed to join the knights and stay relatively close to her friends, to the people she knew. She was adjusting slowly. After a while, she thought that maybe being stuck here wouldn't be so bad. There were no major disasters or diseases going around. Being friends with a queen and her husband meant that finances would never be a problem. This place even had something like world peace.

Maybe after all it wouldn't be all that bad.

"It's been tough," she told her friend, "Getting up at dawn everyday, and the routine, the training and everything. But it's getting easier after all these months. Some of the senior knights have been talking about pulling me out of regular training to make me a bodyguard. At first I thought it was a joke, because everyone knows I was your Guardian, but now I think they're serious. Especially with little Tala now in the wide world."

"Are you going to do it?" asked Kalas, curious, "Become a bodyguard if you can?"

"Hell yeah," said Allyr with a grin, "I'd rather be a bodyguard for one of you three than a soldier, though being a normal knight isn't that bad."

Kalas shrugged, but did not comment. Yet another silence fell between the two friends, as they stared out in silence. "Now we've got the rest of our lives ahead of us," thought Allyr aloud. She turned to Kalas "It's going to be interesting, no?"

Kalas smiled, "Yeah," he said, "That it will be."

_The End_


End file.
